Improving viewsheds along the Blue Ridge Parkway/Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
The designers of the Blue Ridge Parkway created 216 overlooks to offer astonishing views of rippling mountain peaks and lush valleys. Over time, vegetation has grown and obscured many of those vistas. Earlier this year, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation provided funding to clear these overlooks through its Renew the Views program.
The National Park Service’s Arborist Incident Response team spent 10 days removing obstructions at overlooks along the southern end of the parkway in North Carolina.
The work was planned with careful consideration of wildlife, like the Northern flying squirrel. Through close annual monitoring, rangers were able to determine that the selected trees could be removed without harming the species. The felled trees will create habitat and nutrient regeneration into the soil. As the dead wood decomposes, it will aid plant growth by returning important nutrients to the ecosystem.
Parkway travelers can look forward to open sight lines at additional overlooks soon. Beginning in the spring of 2019, AIR team members will work on clearing select vistas between Mount Mitchell, milepost 349, and Graveyard Fields, milepost 418, near Asheville, North Carolina. With donor support, the scenic drive is regaining a signature feature from its history.
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Comments
Thank you Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Next to preserving the viewshed, vista restoration is a critcial need for our parkway. Renew the Vew is a fantasic program. Vista restoration needs are something we should anticipate at least once a generation (roughly every 20 years). Right now, we are way overdue with most vistas. Sadly, we have deprived a few generations of the full beauty that is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Support the program, when and if you can.
Well done! Have only been to Shenandoah NP, not BRP. I am going on the Blue Ridge in May from VA to NC. Looking forward to it!
This is great news! We drove the parkway a few years ago and could see only trees at the overlooks. While we understand the need to protect woodlands and habitats, the need for open overlooks cannot be "overlooked." For many people, going to the overlooks may be their first and/or only introduction to nature. We need to be sure they continue to be attracted to and moved by nature and the Parkway fills this role to a great degree. Kudos to the Foundation for restoring these encounters with the natural beauty of the mountains!