Even if it’s a bit older, this news may still be new to you.

 

 

Chimney Rock Awarded EENC 2015 Outstanding Partner

 

Chimney Rock Management, LLC at Chimney Rock State Park is the 2015 Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC) Outstanding Partner. The Outstanding Partner Award is given annually to an individual, organization, or business who supports EENC and helps make environmental education possible in North Carolina.

Each year the EENC publicly recognizes environmental educators, EENC members, organizations and partners for their valuable contributions to environmental literacy, the field of environmental education, the EENC as an organization and the environmental well-being of North Carolina.

Chimney Rock Management hosted the first Western Section Mini- conference on February 6, 2015. The conference was a big success, bringing well over 100 educators together for a day of professional development and networking at a very low cost. The Mini-conference planning team was looking for a site that is an iconic part of Western North Carolina and could host both indoor and outdoor workshops, and Chimney Rock fit the bill.

“Chimney Rock Management, and in particular Education Manager Emily Walker, made our event a success,” said EENC Partnership Chair Keith Bamberger. “We invited EENC members to present but also wanted programs from the best naturalist and scientific minds. Chimney Rock Management worked with Chimney Rock State Park to provide the facilities for the workshop. CRM also brought in renowned naturalist Ron Lance and geologist Anthony Love and helped EENC double the programming space due to the enthusiastic response and participation from the EENC members.”

Keith continued, “It is important that EENC shows value of membership to our constituents. For that reason having events like a mini conference is incredibly important. Our phenomenal turnout had much to do with the reasonable cost of the event and the outstanding State Park resource. Thanks to Chimney Rock Management, we were able to meet these goals for the event.”

 

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

 

Goats Help Get Rid of Invasive Plants

 

This past summer and fall, Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park employed some four-legged partners to help get rid of invasive plants in the Park. Fifteen goats were hired as part of a partnership between Chimney Rock Management, LLC; NC State Parks; the Weed Action Coalition of Hickory Nut Gorge (WAC-HNG) and the Friends of Chimney Rock State Park as an ecologically- friendly way to keep invasive plants such as such as Kudzu, Princess Tree and Oriental bittersweet at bay.

Visitors to the Park were able to see the goats hard at work on the mountainside above the gravel parking area located just before the top parking lot. Our furry friends worked for about one month this past summer, clearing out a two-acre swath of land near the top of the mountain that was a tangled mess of weeds and invasive plants; and returned in mid-September to munch for nearly three more weeks. WAC-HNG will spot-treat the area with herbicide in late spring or early summer of 2016.

“Using livestock to control non-native invasive plants is an ecologically-friendly and cost-effective measure,” says David Lee, WAC-HNG Hickory Nut Gorge Steward, who coordinates invasive species management for the group. No machinery needs to be used, and little to no herbicide is needed.”

“We’re always working to remove invasive plants from the Park,” adds Mary Jaeger-Gale, Chimney Rock Management, LLC General Manager. “Invasives increase the chance of erosion and landslides, decrease food supply for birds and other wildlife, limit access to recreational use and are an eyesore. Goats love the woody-stemmed vegetation found on the mountainsides of the Gorge, their body sizes makes for a light footprint and they aerate and fertilize the soil as they work, which encourages the growth of natural plants in the spring. Using goats to control invasives is a perfect fit with the Park’s goal of sustaining our land in the most ecologically-friendly way possible.”

WAC-HNG offers an adopt-a-goat program in which they contract with local business who “rent” out their goats for invasive control throughout Hickory Nut Gorge. For more information, contact them at 828-625-9983, ext. 506.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _