Cherry Cove (addition)

The Cherry Cove (addition) Inventoried Roadless Area covers 836 acres within the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, encompassing a varied mountain landscape of named coves, gaps, and knobs across a substantial elevation range. The terrain includes Burnt Cabin Cove (3,133 ft), Deep Gap (3,451 ft), Watkins Knob and Hickorynut Gap (both at approximately 3,041 ft), Cherry Cove (2,897 ft), Grapevine Cove (2,683 ft), and Ledford Gap (2,661 ft). Cherry Cove Branch and Hothouse Branch drain from this landscape into the Shooting Creek headwaters, a tributary of the Little Tennessee system. The area carries major hydrological significance as a headwater source.

Five forest community types cover the area, differentiated by elevation, aspect, and cove position. Acidic Cove Forest and Rich Cove Forest occupy the named hollows—Cherry Cove, Grapevine Cove, and Burnt Cabin Cove—where the combination of sheltered topography and available moisture supports a distinctive herb layer. Rich Cove Forest in these positions includes cucumber-tree (Magnolia acuminata), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla) in a canopy above northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), and painted trillium (Trillium undulatum) at ground level. Buffalo-nut (Pyrularia pubera), a root parasite that often goes unnoticed, appears in the midstory of cove and slope communities. At higher elevations above Deep Gap, Northern Hardwood Forest and High Elevation Red Oak Forest take over, with red spruce (Picea rubens) present at the upper end of the elevation range and yellow birch extending through both communities. On the main mid-elevation ridges between these coves and gaps, Montane Oak-Hickory Forest covers the bulk of the terrain.

Red-legged salamander (Plethodon shermani), classified as vulnerable by IUCN and found only in a narrow range of the southern Blue Ridge, inhabits the moist cove forest floor throughout this area. Golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), a boreal associate in the southern Appalachians, nests in red spruce and mixed conifer stands at the area's upper elevations. The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) occupies Cherry Cove Branch and Hothouse Branch in the stream reaches that maintain sufficient flow, temperature stability, and substrate quality. Green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila), critically endangered globally and restricted to a small number of sites in the southern Appalachians, occurs within the area in seep and wet-meadow microsites where its carnivorous habit supplements nitrogen in nutrient-poor soils. Common box turtle (Terrapene carolina), a vulnerable species, moves through both cove and upland forest communities. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

Entering Cherry Cove Branch from below, a visitor follows the stream through the closed canopy of Acidic Cove Forest—yellow birch and tuliptree overhead, painted trillium and maidenhair fern in the understory during spring—before the hollow opens slightly into the named cove. Moving upslope toward Deep Gap, the cove species give way to montane oak and hickory as the slope steepens and moisture availability decreases. At Deep Gap, the transition to Northern Hardwood Forest is marked by a shift in both tree composition and understory character—the herb layer becomes sparser, red spruce begin to appear at the margins, and the golden-crowned kinglet's thin, ascending call carries through the canopy. The named coves in this area—Cherry Cove, Grapevine Cove, Burnt Cabin Cove—each retain distinct ecological character, offering a visitor a sequence of compressed transitions through the full range of montane forest types.

The Cherokee people inhabited these mountains as ancestral homeland, managing the forest through practices such as prescribed burning to maintain open woodland structures and promote the growth of oak for food. During the eighteenth century, European colonists established a trade in deer hides with Cherokee communities in the Nantahala region. In 1838, the forced removal of the Cherokee people—known as the Trail of Tears—significantly impacted this region, with the historic trail corridor passing near the southern boundary of the broader management area. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, descendants of Cherokee who remained in North Carolina after removal, maintains direct historical and contemporary connection to these ancestral lands. The Forest Service currently consults with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma), the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba, Tuscarora, and Muscogee (Creek) nations regarding cultural resources and management of these territories.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, private logging companies extensively logged the region, stripping the land of its resources before selling acreage to the federal government. These operations typically included temporary logging camps with worker housing, blacksmith shops, and commissaries.

The Nantahala National Forest was established on January 29, 1920, by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911. This federal legislation authorized the government to purchase private lands in the eastern United States to protect the headwaters of navigable streams and restore lands stripped bare by previous industrial use. The forest initially encompassed lands in North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. Subsequent boundary adjustments in 1929 and 1936 redefined the forest to its present configuration of approximately 500,000 acres exclusively within North Carolina, consisting of Macon, Jackson, Transylvania, Graham, and Swain counties.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps operated in the forest to rehabilitate the landscape following decades of industrial extraction. In 2023, the Forest Service entered into a Tribal Forest Protection Act agreement with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge and tribal values into the management of these ancestral lands. The Cherry Cove area is currently protected as an Inventoried Roadless Area under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prohibits new road construction and most commercial timber harvesting.

Vital Resources Protected

Shooting Creek Headwater Integrity

Cherry Cove Branch and Hothouse Branch originate within this 836-acre area and feed directly into the Shooting Creek headwaters, which carry major hydrological significance in the Little Tennessee watershed. Roadless conditions prevent the chronic sedimentation and thermal loading that road construction introduces into first-order streams, keeping the substrate quality and water temperatures on which cold-water-dependent aquatic communities in these headwaters depend. Intact headwater flow also maintains the hydrological connectivity between named coves—Cherry Cove, Grapevine Cove, Burnt Cabin Cove—and the downstream drainage, sustaining stream reaches across the full area.

Cove Forest Microclimate and Sensitive Plant Habitat

The Rich Cove Forest and Acidic Cove Forest communities in the named hollows of this area depend on the cool, humid microclimates created by intact canopy closure and undisturbed soil profiles. These conditions support highly specific assemblages: bigleaf grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia grandifolia) and blue ridge bittercress (Cardamine flagellifera), both classified as vulnerable, occupy the seep and cove margin habitats where moisture and shade are consistent year-round. Green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila), critically endangered globally, persists in the nutrient-poor seep microsites that form only in undisturbed, hydrologically intact settings. Roadless status protects the uncompacted soil structure and unaltered water movement that these communities require.

Elevational Gradient Connectivity from Cove to High-Elevation Red Oak Forest

The terrain here spans from lower coves at Ledford Gap (2,661 ft) to Deep Gap (3,451 ft), supporting a continuous gradient through five forest community types—from Rich and Acidic Cove Forest through Montane Oak-Hickory Forest to Northern Hardwood Forest and High Elevation Red Oak Forest. That unbroken gradient allows species to move through forest types as seasonal conditions or long-term climate variation shifts the suitability of any one community. High Elevation Red Oak Forest in this area faces documented threats from oak regeneration failure and canopy decline; maintaining connectivity between this community and adjacent lower-elevation forest types sustains the ecological context in which these high-elevation communities persist.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

Sedimentation and Thermal Disruption in Cove Stream Headwaters

Road construction across the slopes draining into Cherry Cove Branch and Hothouse Branch would introduce cut-slope erosion directly into streams that currently receive minimal sediment inputs. Fine sediment deposited in stream gravels degrades substrate quality and raises the turbidity that cold-water species cannot tolerate. Canopy removal along road corridors also eliminates the riparian shade that maintains the low water temperatures in these headwater reaches—a change that persists as long as the road corridor keeps the overstory open.

Cove Microclimate Disruption and Sensitive Plant Habitat Loss

Road construction through the cove communities would alter the soil hydrology and canopy structure on which the area's most sensitive plant species depend. Cutting and filling disturbs the water movement patterns that supply seep habitats, draining or redirecting the thin films of groundwater that bigleaf grass-of-parnassus and green pitcher plant require. Once these hydrological microsites are disrupted, the specific conditions they provide—consistent moisture, low nutrient levels, absence of competing vegetation—are effectively impossible to restore at the scale of individual plant populations.

Edge Effects and Invasive Species Establishment

Road corridors through the cove and hardwood forest communities create persistent linear edges where canopy closure is lost, light and wind increase, and soil disturbance creates the conditions that favor invasive non-native species establishment. Invasive species are documented as threats with extreme severity to multiple plant communities in this area; once established along a road corridor, they expand into adjacent Rich Cove Forest and Northern Hardwood Forest, displacing the native herb layer species—black cohosh, painted trillium, northern maidenhair fern—that define these communities' ecological character. These displacements are difficult to detect at first and nearly impossible to fully reverse after establishment.

The Cherry Cove Addition to the Nantahala National Forest encompasses 836 acres of steep, rugged terrain in the high Southern Appalachian headwaters. The area contains no National Forest System roads and is managed as backcountry, preserving a semi-primitive character that defines the recreation opportunities here. Access is by foot only, via ridgetop trails and unmaintained paths from adjacent forest service roads near Standing Indian Campground and Rainbow Springs Road.

Hunting

The Cherry Cove Addition is part of the Nantahala Game Land, designated as a seven-day-per-week hunting area under North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission management. White-tailed Deer and Black Bear are present, along with Wild Turkey and Ruffed Grouse in the surrounding forest. Raccoon and Opossum are also legally huntable. Hunters may use archery, blackpowder, shotguns, and rifles (.22 caliber rimfire for small game; larger calibers for big game). Hunter orange is required for firearms hunting. The area's mature forest (80+ years old) and steep terrain limit access and create a backcountry hunting experience; the lack of roads means hunters reach the area on foot, and the rugged topography naturally restricts pressure. Target shooting is prohibited within game land boundaries. The absence of roads is essential to maintaining this backcountry character — motorized access would fundamentally change the hunting experience and increase harvest pressure on game populations.

Fishing

Shooting Creek and its tributaries — Cherry Cove Branch and Hothouse Branch — support wild trout populations including Wild Rainbow Trout, Wild Brown Trout, and Native Brook Trout. These are classified as Wild Trout Waters by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The season is year-round with a four-fish daily creel limit and a seven-inch minimum size. Single-hook artificial lures and flies only are required in marked wild trout sections; natural bait is prohibited. A valid North Carolina Inland Fishing License is required. Access is by hiking from Forest Service Road 67 near Standing Indian Campground or Rainbow Springs Road, then bushwhacking into the headwater tributaries. The streams maintain crystal-clear water and cold temperatures (around 52°F year-round) critical for native brook trout. The Eastern Hellbender, a proposed endangered species, inhabits these clean headwaters. The roadless condition protects the aquatic habitat and water quality that wild trout depend on; roads and stream crossings would fragment populations and degrade the cold, clear water these fish require.

Birding

The area's Northern Hardwood and Red Spruce forests above 3,000 feet support high-elevation specialties including Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, and Brown Creeper. Golden-crowned Kinglet is documented in the area. Peregrine Falcon, listed as endangered, nests on cliffs within the Nantahala National Forest; seasonal closures protect nesting birds. Spring and fall migration (March through October) bring returning native species and migrant passage. In mid-September, thousands of Monarch butterflies migrate south through the high-elevation corridor. Broad-winged Hawks form visible "kettles" during autumn raptor migration. The area is accessed via the Appalachian Trail and local footpaths such as Big Spring Ridge trail, which pass through rich cove environments. Nearby eBird hotspots include Wayah Bald and Jackrabbit Mountain. The roadless condition maintains the interior forest habitat and quiet that migratory birds and nesting raptors depend on; roads would fragment forest and introduce noise and human disturbance during critical breeding and migration periods.

Paddling

Shooting Creek, which originates in the roadless area, is paddled in its lower sections as it flows west toward Lake Chatuge. The creek has a gradient of approximately 35.7 feet per mile, consistent with Class II whitewater in its runnable reaches. A documented take-out is located at the Old Highway 64 bridge, approximately one mile east of NC Highway 175. Paddling is seasonal and depends on flow; the creek is described as "pleasantly full and inviting" when Lake Chatuge's level is down by six feet. There is no active online gauge; paddlers rely on visual inspection at the bridge. Access to the upper headwater reaches within the roadless area is limited and typically requires hiking in. The roadless condition preserves the natural hydrology and cold-water flow that makes paddling possible; roads and water withdrawals would alter stream flow and degrade the paddling experience.

Photography

The area is documented as natural-appearing with no roads within its boundaries, maintaining a primitive character valued for scenic photography. Spring wildflowers, including spring ephemerals, bloom throughout the area. Rare flora documented include Small whorled pogonia (Threatened), Rock gnome lichen (Endangered), and Blue Ridge bittercress. The high-elevation ridges provide vantage points for photographing the autumn landscape and the southward migration of Monarch butterflies in mid-September. Wildlife species of photographic interest include the Red-legged Salamander, Eastern Hellbender, and bat species (Gray, Indiana, and Northern Long-eared). The area is recognized for dark night skies suitable for astronomical observation. The roadless condition preserves the undeveloped scenic value and wildlife habitat that photography depends on; roads would introduce visual intrusion, fragment habitat, and increase human disturbance to wildlife.