Pisgah National Forest: A History (Natural History)

Great

Great book with a lot of interesting historical facts. As an avid hiker in the Pisgah Forest, reading this book by Marci Spencer has shed a lot of light on various artifacts found within the forest and provided a valuable insight into how this very special place was created and conserved over the years. I would highly recommend this book to all of those who want to know why Western North Carolina is such a highly visited location and an area of such great beauty.

Best coffee table book around. This book has captured the greatest places in the pisgah national forest. Beautiful pictures!!! Great quality book!!

Overall, this was a really fascinating history of a land tract that means a lot to North Carolina and the entire country. It was deeply researched and well-written. However, I think that this book would have benefited greatly from several reference maps throughout the chapters to give readers a visual about the various districts and their proximity to each other as well as to cities and towns.

Did you know that the US Forest Service tried to introduce bison in Pisgah National Forest? In 1917, six buffalos from a herd in New Hampshire were taken by rail to Pisgah at Elk Pasture. This is only one of the fascinating pieces of history that I learned after reading Pisgah National Forest: A History by Marci Spencer, just published by The History Press. Spencer starts her book before George Vanderbilt came to Asheville to build Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt bought land from several locals, including Thomas Clingman, of Clingmans Dome fame.From this beginning, the book elaborates on first forester Gifford Pinchot and, my favorite character, Dr. Carl A. Schenck who came from Germany to manage Vanderbilt’s forests. Schenck later started America’s first school of forestry.No discussion of Vanderbilt’s influence is complete without talking about Bucksprings Lodge, his hunting lodge just below Mt. Pisgah. Spencer enlisted Walt Weber, an expert on Bucksprings Lodge and an active member of Carolina Mountain Club, to give her an in-depth tour of the lodge site.But enough of the Pisgah district. Spencer writes with the same authority about the Appalachian District –Max Patch and Roan Mountains — and Grandfather District — Linville Gorge and Wilson Creek. The author walks through the human, political and natural history of Pisgah National Forest. She enlisted the help of dozens of expert historians and naturalists to make sure that her story is based on solid research.If I have one quibble about the book, it’s that it only mentions the Mountains-to-Sea Across North Carolina twice just in passing. With over 250 miles of the MST through Pisgah, the trail might have gotten a bigger billing.The History Press puts out beautifully illustrated books. The center of the Pisgah book displays 16 pages of color inserts. Many historic black and white pictures pepper the text. The bibliography and index are impeccable, another indication of a quality piece of work.After retiring as a nurse practitioner, Marci earned her certificate as a North Carolina environmental educator and a Blue Ridge naturalist. She is the author of Clingmans Dome: Highest Mountain in the Great Smokies, and a soon-to-be released children’s book based on a true story, called Potluck Message Delivered: The Great Smoky Mountains are Saved! Marcia Spencer is a volunteer for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Clingmans Dome.PS – What happened to those buffaloes? The experiment failed and the buffalo didn’t survive.

Marci Spencer's book on Pisgah National Forest, like her previous one on Clingman's Dome in the Smokys, both informs and entertains while her love for her subject conveys energy sufficient to propel the most confirmed of couch potatoes out into this unique American forest. Her history documents the birth of forest management in these three districts of Pisgah and the influence of key figures such as Gifford Pinchot and Dr. Carl Schenck and the Vanderbilts. Spencer details the introduction of forestry into the area, the logging operations, and threats posed by humans to the forest such as the introduction of invasive species. Her book is a naturalists's field guide, an historian's tour, and an ode of joy to this unparalleled landscape--basically the US Forest Service lands surrounding Asheville. Her energized prose turns the story of Pisgah into a living outdoors classroom as she urges her readers to go see for themselves..The color photo section is especially remarkable for its series of images of the November 2013 wildfire on Tablerock Mountain, though these startling pictures are wel- balanced against numerous shots of the public at recreation in Pisgah with its rarest natural products such as Oconee Bell flowers and the obligatory black bears.Max Patch, Roan Mountain, Grandfather, the Pink Beds, Linville Gorge and Wilson Creek, Marci Spencer has touched all the bases in this lively and informative book.

Ms Spencer has a wonderful passion for making local history come alive while clearly connecting the relevance of man's activities to the natural world. Her passion for detail is revealed in every page as she connects the dots of western man's entry into the forest and subsequent conflicts with the different desires and interests in land use.A Little known fact about the success of Vanderbilt's vast estate was the contribution of Gifford Pinchot. As a young man he journeyed to France to pursue his passion -- forestry. While studying in Europe, he became a convert to the practice of selective harvesting of forest resources. After he returned to the United States in 1891, Vanderbilt recognized his unique understanding of managing large tracts of forest and hired him to do that. Surely the present day forest preservation activity and designations as a national forest would not be so without these leaders with foresight. A good read for anyone interested our natural world and its survival against great odds.

Another excellent book from Ms. Spencer. Her research is solid, her writing is clear and concise. One of only two people I've ever worked with who got the facts and photo captions correct! If you live in Western North Carolina, you need this book in your library.