Black Mountains (North Carolina) - Environmental Threats

Environmental Threats

The Black Mountains, like many other ranges in the Appalachians, are currently threatened by acid rain and air pollution. Much of the range's once-famous Red Spruce and Fraser Fir trees are dead or dying due in part to the pollution. A more significant threat to the Firs, however, is the Balsam Woolly Adelgid, an insect which may have an easier time killing the Firs than it normally would due to them being weakened by the acid rain. In some recent studies, individual Fraser fir trees which are resistant to the Adelgid have been found, lending hope to the possibility that these will again repopulate a healthy, mature Fir forest at the mountains' highest elevations.

At lower elevations of the Black Mountains, Eastern and Carolina Hemlock trees grow on moist slopes near streams (a National Forest recreation area on the Toe River at the base of Mount Mitchell is called "Carolina Hemlocks" for this reason). These too are under attack by an introduced pest, the Hemlock woolly adelgid. Arriving only in the last few growing seasons, the health of the Hemlocks in the region is rapidly declining. Research is currently underway in releasing predator beetles that will, hopefully, eat enough Adelgids to balance their population and allow the Hemlocks to flourish.

The area around the Black Mountains is also experiencing rapid population growth as retirees from other states pour into the region. Due to a lack of zoning laws, this has resulted in rapid development of ridgetop cabins, large second-homes on the lower ridges, and deforestation that threatens the natural beauty of the region. And although many people visit the Black Mountains for their legendary scenic views, visibility has been greatly reduced due to particulate matter in the air, mainly coming from large TVA coal-fired powerplaints "upstream" of the Black Mountains in the Midwest.