Preserving and Protecting Historic Forests: Forest Management Plan for the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Johnson, James

The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (CSHNHS) occupies about 267 acres in the lower Blue Ridge Mountains in Henderson County, North Carolina, near the small town of Flat Rock (Hart 1993). The focus of this management plan is the 232 acres classified as "forest" or "woodland." Since the CSHNHS is primarily a cultural resource park, the primary emphasis is toward historic scene restoration, cultural integrity of the main home and farm buildings, and interpretation of the estate as it existed and was used during the historic period, defined as 1960- 1967 (Hart 1993). The primary driving force behind management of the forests is to allow nature to take its course, a philosophy adopted and practiced by the Sandburgs. As such, heavy management practices such as timber harvesting and prescribed burning are not envisioned for the park. Even though lack of management will cause natural succession to create a forest much different from the one that the Sandburgs knew, this direction is considered acceptable by park administration. This report details the current status of the forest woody vegetation at all levels: overstory, understory, and ground layer. The park has a large amount of plant diversity, with over 500 species of vascular plants, both woody and herbaceous, located in 14 ecological associations. This report details the density, dominance, frequency, and importance of the woody vegetation of the park. Also included are field observations of overstory tree health, forest health, fuel conditions, and management needs to meet park objectives. The National Park Service (NPS) selected 17 historic trees on the property for consideration in this report. Irene Van Hoff of the NPS directed researchers from Virginia Tech to each tree and identified the trees on a map for future reference. Researchers from Virginia Tech examined each historic tree for health, structural condition, and suggested management actions.