The Bluff Mountain Preserve management goal is to conserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the Amphibolite’s native diversity by protecting the lands and waters they need to persist. This goal is consistent with TNC’s strategic mission and the strategies and actions that follow have been developed specifically for the Bluff Mountain Preserve to achieve the goal.
Strategy 1: Preserve Conservation and Management
Maintain diversity of natural communities and forest age classes through science-based management.
Action: Habitat Management
Sub-Action: Partition Bluff Mountain Preserve into management units based on the natural community, management objectives, and available management options.
Sub-Action: Employ a prescribed fire regime designed to achieve a desired future condition within the natural range of variation on High-Elevation Red Oak and other fire-adapted natural communities.
Sub-Action: Conduct Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) to maintain diverse natural communities.
Sub-Action: Include BMP in Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network (SBRFLN) as a demonstration site.
Sub-Action: Develop a Bluff Mountain Forest Management Plan to determine management options for forested habitat.
Action: Review Bluff Mountain’s Articles of Dedication with Natural Heritage Program to develop a process for reviewing and evaluating management options.
Sub-Action: Monitor the invasive and exotic species, and take appropriate measures to eradicate or control them.
Sub-Action: Conserve the Bluff Mountain Fen through protection of the natural hydrologic regime and buffer.
Sub-Action: Seek support to identify historic and current vegetative community types.
Sub-Action: Maintain some old fields or open areas in an early successional state by utilizing prescribed fire, mowing, discing, and roller chopping.
Action: Improve understanding of Bluff Mountain wildlife populations.
Sub-Action: Establish bat and small mammal monitoring program to determine the presence of priority species including Appalachian cottontails, bats, woodland jumping mice, long-tailed, pygmy and water shrews.
Sub-Action: Establish bird surveys to document trends presence and population status of priority species.
Sub-Action: Establish surveys for rare salamanders to determine presence and population status, and improve understanding of habitat associations.
Action: Continue to participate on partner committees and groups dealing with Amphibolite Mountain and New River Headwaters conservation issues.
Action: Cultivate partnerships with local academia (Appalachian State University, Viginia Tech) non-profit organizations, and state and federal government partners to determine and adapt the best treatment methods for the management of High-Elevation Red Oak, Mountain Fens, and Carolina Hemlock Bluffs, and High-Elevation Mafic Glades.
Action: Identify and protect cultural resources by preserving existing historical structures and structures and discovering new resources through systematic studies.
Action: Supplement existing TNC monitoring efforts by contracting with private providers to accomplish a comprehensive inventory of invasive exotic plant species on the BMP.
Action: Provide technical assistance and support to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Forest Service, and other agencies conducting aquatic inventories, monitoring water quality, and other parameters that may indicate present and future conditions of the Amphibolite Mountains and New River Headwaters.
Strategy 2: Preserve Use and Recreation
Evaluate current and develop new nature-based recreation and educational opportunities.
Action: Continue to maintain and improve the existing road network, as well as roads on new acquisitions, where appropriate.
Action: Maintain existing openings and/or develop new openings on appropriate disturbed sites, including those on new acquisitions to enhance viewing opportunities.
Action: Evaluate traditional hunting opportunities for white-tailed deer, squirrel, turkey, and feral hog.
Strategy 3: Resources
Maintain adequate infrastructure and supplement existing staff to facilitate operations and visitation.
Action: Utilize volunteers and volunteer preserve monitors to aid management activities.
Action: Supplement existing TNC staff using temporary positions, Americorps, and contracted services
Action: Explore opportunities for using Department of Corrections inmate labor to supplement staffing.
Action: Cultivate relationships with Appalachian State Universtiy and college natural resource programs to achieve research needs and potential opportunities on BMP.
Strategy 4: Protection
Ensure an optimum boundary, and develop landscape-scale linkages and wildlife corridors, by continuing to identify and pursue acquisition needs.
Action: Maintain a Geographic Information System (GIS) shapefile, acreage, and other data necessary to facilitate parcel additions to BMP.
Action: Continue to pursue adjacent parcels for annexation to BMP.
Action: Emphasize acquisition of adjacent lands to enhance and protect natural resource integrity and provide resilience to disturbance.
Bluff Mountain Preserve 