CANCELLED Western Mountains Chapter: February Meeting & Program

CANCELLED due to icy conditions

Topic: Restoring the High Elevation Red Spruce Forests of Central Appalachia 

Speaker: Dave Saville, Program Coordinator for the West Virginia Highland Conservancy’s Red Spruce Ecosystem Restoration Program

Red spruce and red spruce-northern hard-wood forests once dominated the highest elevations of West Virginia, over one million acres. Extensive logging in the late 1800s and early 1900s reduced much of the mature forest in the Appalachians, including the red spruce-dominated stands. Today less than 50,000 acres of high elevation red spruce forests remain in the State. Besides being reduced in size, the remaining spruce forests are highly fragmented. The Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (CASRI) is a partnership of diverse interests with a common goal of restoring historic red spruce-northern hardwood ecosystems across the high elevation landscapes of Central Appalachia. It is comprised of private, state, federal, and non-governmental organizations which recognize the importance of this ecosystem for its ecological, aesthetic, recreational, economic, and cultural values.

This free program will begin promptly at 7:00 pm; the public is welcome to attend. 

Directions: From I-68 take exit 33 (Braddock Rd & Midlothian Rd exit). Follow Braddock Road approximately 1.3 miles to stop sign. Turn left onto Park Avenue. Drive a short distance and turn left, following signs for the Compton Parking Lot.

No registration.