Recently, RCP interns Dayson, Catesby, and Enrique took a trip to one of The Conservation Fund and Resourceful Communities’ most exciting projects – Hoke Community Forest.
Leading the hike through knee-high floodwaters, thorny shrubbery and recently fire-engulfed forestland was forester Buck Vaughan, who filled the interns in on a plethora of knowledge about the resilience, eco-diversity and economic opportunity this parcel offers Hoke County.
In the days prior to the site visit, Hoke Community Forest was affected by an unplanned arson that burned through 4 acres of forestland. Thankfully, many of the species at Hoke Community Forest are well adapted to seasonal fire, which in fact plays a crucial role in this and other pine forest ecosystems.
Buck explains: “As a pine forest grows, the duff layer (layer of needles above the forest floor) prevents light seeded species from being able to germinate because they need to have seed to soil contact to germinate. If you burn and remove that duff layer and open those areas up, then light seeded grasses and other herbaceous species will be able to germinate and you’ll get a much more dense layer of low herbaceous growth on the forest floor.”
And while arson should be avoided, planned fires are being used as a tool in Hoke Community Forest to promote understory growth providing valuable forage and cover habitat for a number of wildlife species. As the current loblolly pine stands are harvested, these areas will be converted to the more historically accurate longleaf pine.
“Without using fire as a control mechanism, more likely than not, if we planted longleaf, we would still have a large amount of natural seeding from loblolly pine, so then you would have more of a mixed stand and you wouldn’t achieve the objective of a more longleaf pine dominated stand,” says Buck. “So we use fire to control the amount of loblolly, hardwood and other species in the stand and promote the growth of the longleaf.”
Longleaf pines will also play a future economic role for Hoke County. Unlike the low market value loblolly pines that currently dominate the forest, longleaf pine straw sells for a dollar a bale!
“We’re restoring about 90 acres now of longleaf pine and in about seven or eight years, after we transfer the title to the county, the county will be able to rake that straw and produce $9,000 a year just from raking and selling the straw on the property,” says Buck.
To learn more about Hoke Community Forest, click here or contact Monica McCann at mmccann@conservationfund.org.
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