Dr. Mark Spond assesses condition of agricultural parcels along Blue Ridge Parkway using NPS funding

A fall scene along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Shutterstock/TheBigMK Image

Appalachian students and alumni who were involved with the project:

Jonathan “Joey” Boretti ’18, of Holly Springs — an alumnus of Appalachian’s B.S. in general geography program.
Tyler Segebarth ’18, of Jacksonville — an alumnus of Appalachian’s B.S. in environmental science program.
Moriah Van Voorhis, of Wake Forest — a senior biology major.

Edited by Jessica Stump

Posted March 15, 2019 at 1:45 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Thanks to $21,820 in funding from the National Park Service (NPS), Dr. Mark Spond, Appalachian State University’s liaison to the NPS, has completed a condition assessment of agricultural parcels adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway — a 469-mile road that snakes along the central and southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.

NPS, which owns the parcels, leases the land through a Special Use Permit for a period of five years as part of its Agricultural Lease Program. The leases provide a modest source of revenue for NPS and promote the pastoral setting along portions of the parkway, Spond shared.

“In permitting agricultural use of NPS lands, the parkway is required to foster practices, which conserve soil, protect streams and groundwater, control exotic plant species and avoid toxic contamination of the environment,” the NPS website states.

Spond said NPS will use the information collected from the assessment in fall 2018 to require correction prior to the renewal of an agricultural lease permit and/or may create best management practice statements that need to be included in the permit and carried out during the permit’s term.

A second goal of the project was to establish permanent photo points in high-priority parcels for long-term monitoring, Spond said. Photo point monitoring, as defined by the USDA Forest Service, is a method of monitoring vegetation and ecosystem change over a period of time by taking photographs of an area from the same location and with the same field of view as the original photo.

“The photo points will serve as a qualitative tool to visually confirm/observe degradation or improvement in conditions,” Spond explained.

Appalachian students and alumni who were involved with the project:

Jonathan “Joey” Boretti ’18, of Holly Springs — an alumnus of Appalachian’s B.S. in general geography program.
Tyler Segebarth ’18, of Jacksonville — an alumnus of Appalachian’s B.S. in environmental science program.
Moriah Van Voorhis, of Wake Forest — a senior biology major.

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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.