The Cherokee National Forest in Polk County, TN has dedicated a ~300 acre parcel on Smith Mountain as a burn exclusion zone for research purposes. Recognizing that there are few areas remaining in the forest that do not have a recent known history of anthropogenic fire, the agency has designated this area as excluded from its current management for controlled fire to act as an ecological baseline in research. This area was chosen four years ago due to having no known wildfire or controlled burns that have occurred at least since the beginning of the district's databases for controlled burns and wildfires in 1982- with some anecdotal accounts for no known fire going back further. Most of the rest of the forest has experienced controlled burns in recent years as part of long range management, which makes this an area of interest for comparative research.
The parcel is easily accessible by gravel FS road only a few miles from Turtletown, TN along its eastern side that is vehicle accessible year- round. The parcel contains a variety of upland and mesic habitats, including dry mesic oak, hemlock/white pine, and more upland pine-oak communties. Many of the stands are typical for the forest and region- second growth 80-100 yr age, with some younger stands as well. Several stands have been plotted recently with agency FFI (Feat Firemon Integrated) surveys to add to the agency's greater forest fuels database, and we're happy to share this data and FSVEG stand inventory maps (kmz/shp). There are many research opportunities available for those interested in an area for control/baseline data in fire ecology. At present there are no silvicultural activities planned for this area.
