Clinch Mountain Preserve

Clinch Mountain Preserve , owned by Steve Brooks and Maxine Kenny, is a 108-acre hardwood forest located on a northwestern slope of Clinch Mountain in Scott County, Virginia.  This area of Virginia is part of the Clinch River Bioreserve. Steve and Maxine, longtime environmentalists, modified their already donated conservation easement in 2005 to designate The 500-Year Forest Foundation as their conservation partner.

A preliminary study in May of 2004 by David Richert of Virginia's Natural Heritage Program identified the upper reaches of the property, as a good candidate for a 500-year forest.  Clinch Mountain Preserve ranges from about 2100’ to 2800’ above sea level. Thirty acres of primarily northern red and chestnut oak ranging from 100 to 250 years old exist along the top of the mountain. Below this is a younger forest ranging from 30 to 90 years including northern red, white and chestnut oak, mockernut and shagbark hickory, yellow poplar, buckeye, beech, sugar and red maple, black cherry, white ash, and American basswood. The understory is lush with shrub and herbaceous species such as rhododendron, ferns, wild yams, wild ginger, bellwort, toothwort, spring beauties, Dutchmen’s breeches, fairy bells, and angelica.

Anna Hess, Field Biologist, completed a inventory of plants and animals in the forest during 2006. A management plan is being prepared using this information.

Clinch Mountain Preserve - May 2008

It remains dry here on the Clinch Mountain in far Southwest Virginia!  Though the year started out with adequate rain fall, most of the rain passes to the west and north of Scott County. We are now over 3 inches below the normal level for this date!  Last year we only received half our normal rain fall and a late freeze was disastrous. Some tree species, spring flowers, and much of our fruit was damaged. (We lost 90% of our blueberries in 2007.)

The huge box elder trees that flourish in the lower sections of our property (not in the 500-year forest) seem to have been hurt the most.  Many branches lost their leaves last year, thus producing dead limbs which make for precarious situations near our house and farm buildings.

Damage to trees at higher elevations is not as noticeable, especially the old trees which are well rooted.  However this may change if the drought continues as we understand it usually takes 2 or 3 years for it to affect most trees. 

The invasive plants, such as the garlic mustard, seem to thrive under this climatic stress and its growth may even have been stimulated. It is back in full force this spring.  It appears to be most prevalent in the valleys where it is less dry and has spread both up and down the hollers from the trails that run through them.  With the help of Dale Fields we have been able to remove a large number of these plants in the Old Growth section of the property.  Dale has spent three days pulling and piling the plants in areas where they were most abundant.  Though the plants have finished blooming they will not go to seed for some time yet, so Dale will continue to pull them as time allows.

Our mountain springs continue to flow!  For that we are thankful. All the water coming to our house is gravity fed and the springs are high enough above us to provide the necessary 40 lbs of pressure. We have the sweetest, purist drinking water available anywhere. Because trees have not been cut on our part of the Clinch Mountain for many years we believe the springs will continue to flow much longer than on other properties where major cutting has taken place.  If the drought does continue we may soon be providing water to our neighbors and friends.  Last summer many shallow wells and non-forested springs in our region went dry.

Dale Fields and an armful of garlic mustard

Clinch Mountain Preserve - October 2007

Two work projects were identified from the inventory work of Anna Hess, Field Biologist.  They are aimed at controlling invasive plants and at clearing a narrow footpath that will provide the necessary access to the property.  Along with Steve and Maxine we have hired Dale Fields to undertake this program of work.  The Foundation will pay Dale for his work in the forest.

The invasive plants in this forest are a minor problem compared to many forests and for the most part these plants are in the lower northern section of the forest.  Dale, under Steve’s leadership, spent several days working on the control of Japanese Stilt Grass and Ailanthus.  Our first effort to begin garlic mustard control is planned for the early spring.

Steve and Dale marked the lower boundary of the forest which is along the 2,100 foot elevation contour.  A path will generally follow this contour.  

Dale Fields marking path along northern boundary

Clinch Mountain Preserve - April 2007

Anna Hess, Field Biologist, has completed her field work and provided two reports:  Inventory of the Brooks-Kenny Tract and Plant Community Analysis of the Brooks-Kenny Tract.  This work establishes important forest baseline data.  We can now trace the health of the forest, monitor plants with special attention to the six rare species, and provide knowledge to manage the forest appropriately.

Three main forest community types made up the Brooks-Kenny tract:

Community I is a relatively young Yellow Buckeye-Yellow Poplar-White Basswood forest found in the northwestern part of the property and in old tree fall gaps.

Community II is a Sugar Maple-White Basswood-Yellow Buckeye forest which was found in the northern and central portions of the 500 Year Forest Foundation tract.

Community III is a Chestnut Oak-Sugar Maple-Northern Red Oak forest found on the crest of the Clinch Mountain and on its descending ridges.

Forest Communities

Clinch Mountain Preserve - January 2007
The extensive field work of Anna Hess, Field Biologist, resulted in her written report backed-up by computer files with all the data she had collected over 28 site visits from March to November 2006.  She established 32 circular permanent plots randomly spaced through the forest with four smaller herb plots within each of the larger plots.  Emphasis was placed on an inventory of trees, flowering plant and ferns. We are reviewing the draft of the report currently.

Fortunately the bulk of the invasives species are on the land below the 500-year forest.  They are beginning to creep into the forest.  A plan is being developed to control the spread of the invasives.

Anna Hess measuring tree diameter

Clinch Mountain Preserve - March - November 2006
In the spring there was a great profusion of wild flowers in the coves.  Working with Johnny Townsend of the Division of Natural Heritage, 6 rare plants were identified.

Within the forested are the variety of plants and animals are very diverse.  The species include:

• 198 vascular plant species including:
  • 6 rare plant species
  • 15 invasive plant species
• 8 amphibian species: 2 frog and 6 salamanders
• A number of neo-tropical birds including 1 rare species
• 1 rare butterfly species
• 0 invasive animal species

Golden-eye Saxifrage - Saxafraga careyana

One of the rare identified plants