Southern Appalachian Creature Feature

Like most two-year olds, ours is busy discovering the world around her, however one thing quickly grabs her attention – butterflies. Of all the insects, perhaps none is more beloved that butterflies.

Cattail Peak sits in the Black Mountains, just north of the highest mountain in the Eastern United States – Mount Mitchell. The mountains of the Southern Appalachians are the highest in the east and are home to rare natural communities, like grassy balds and spruce-fir forests, that are in turn home to rare species like the rock-gnome lichen, one of two lichens on the federal endangered species list, and the endangered Carolina northern flying squirrel. Highland Brewing has developed a reputation for naming seasonal beers after prominent area mountain peaks, and now this local company is going to deepen its commitment to those mountains.

A history of water pollution decimated fish populations in the stream, a story similar to the Pigeon River. In recent years, both streams have become dramatically cleaner, and the Pigeon has been the focus of an aggressive and successful effort to restore native fish species. Under normal circumstances, the success of the Pigeon River effort would rub-off on Richland Creek, with fish swimming up the creek to colonize good habitat. However, the dam at Lake Junaluska literally stands in the way.

The Deep Horizon oil spill continues to make headlines as oil keeps pouring into the Gulf of Mexico and the slick spreads. In a glimmer of good news, the Fish &Wildlife Service recently reported that the first two oiled birds found in the oil spill, a northern gannet and a brown pelican, were cleaned and released at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, safely on the east coast of Florida.

May 22 is Endangered Species Day. The phrase endangered species often brings to mind animals like panda bears and elephants, but the Southern Appalachians is home to a plethora of fascinating imperiled species.

Yancey County’s Cane River was once home to part of a thriving population of endangered Appalachian elktoe mussels. Recently beset with problems, hopefully through careful stewardship it will once again become a vibrant and beautiful river.

45, 000 acres, 70 square miles, an area nearly 1/10th the size of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s how much land has been protected by Blue Ridge Forever, a coalition of area land trusts now in their final year of a five-year effort to protect 50,000 mountain acres.

I spoke last week about CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and how it protects plants and animals at risk from international trade. As part of the CITES process, the 175 signatory countries periodically gather to revisit those protections and see if additional species need protecting.

People are fascinated by the zebra skin. It’s a prop I use when I talk to school groups about endangered species, though when I bring it out sometimes complete strangers come over for a closer look. The skin was confiscated by Fish & Wildlife Service inspectors at the Atlanta airport as it was being unlawfully imported.

We all know endangered species are rare. But there’s rare and then there’s rare. Bunched arrowhead is an endangered plant found only in two counties. In the entire world. Henderson County, North Carolina, and Greenville County, South Carolina.