BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Mark Spond, who serves as Appalachian State University’s liaison to the National Park Service (NPS), received a total of $69,455.50 in funding from the National Park Service (NPS) to provide wildfire mitigation at archeological sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GMSNP).

Over nearly the past two academic years, the Office of the Liaison to the National Park Service (NPS) has been in collaboration with Appalachian alumnus Heath Bailey ’09, who serves as staff archaeologist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GMSNP), to provide wildfire mitigation services at archeological sites within the park.

In his commentary on the project, Spond wrote, “An agreement between the university and the National Park Service Youth Programs Division allows Appalachian to place student and nonstudent temporary employees in positions at partnering parks.”

According to Spond, the university’s work with Bailey and the archaeological staff at GSMNP began during August 2016, when Appalachian alumna Josephine Smith ’16, a native of Granite Falls, initiated a survey of historic and prehistoric sites within the park. He said most of her efforts were focused in remote areas of the park located in Blount County, Tennessee.

Following the devastating Chimney Tops 2 and Cobbly Nob wildfires in November 2016, Spond said “resource managers at the Smokies identified a need to complete emergency stabilization treatment of archaeological sites on land within the perimeters of the fires.”

The park and the university collaborated to select Appalachian alumnae Cala Castleberry ’17, of Tallahassee, Florida, and Hayley Wynn ’17, of Huntersville, to perform the stabilization treatment. Both Castleberry and Wynn are May 2017 graduates of Appalachian’s Department of Anthropology. They performed an initial assessment at burned sites to determine the appropriate stabilization measures to be taken.

ASU Anthropology graduates working as part of the Burned Area Emergency Response team in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Department of Anthropology

Aug. 16, 2017

Hayley Wynn and Cala Castleberry graduated together in May 2017, both with degrees in Anthropology, with Archaeology concentrations. They have been fortunate enough to participate in a partnership with Appalachian State University and the Park, working as part of the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, a program that the Forest Service and the DOI created as post-fire actions that are taken within a year of fire containment.

Read the story

About the Appalachian State University Liaison to the National Park Service

The Appalachian State University Liaison to the National Park Service (NPS) is the central contact for initiatives that partner Appalachian with NPS units across the United States. The liaison promotes opportunities, such as service projects and task agreements, that mutually benefit NPS units and university students, faulty, staff and alumni. Past projects have partnered members of the Appalachian Community with NPS natural/cultural resource personnel, interpreters and educational initiatives. Learn more at https://npsliaison.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.