Could there be a more respectful tribute to a man’s life than a memorial stand of old growth forest, especially in the case of Joyce Kilmer the well known poet (“Trees”) and World War I Veteran?
In 1936, the United States government purchased 3,800 acres of old- growth forest in western North Carolina, noted as one of the last virgin hardwood stands in the nation, and dedicated it to the memory of Joyce Kilmer.
The legend of the forest has it that the watershed where the Kilmer Memorial Forest stands today was threatened by the axe of the logging industry many times during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1890, just as the trees were to finally fall, bankruptcy felled the local logging company instead. Following the bankruptcy, ownership of the area changed hands several times with each new investor looking to capitalize on the forest’s massive trees.
But the axe never fell in this forest, perhaps because of the awe the tremendous trees inspired. Each time the logging industry passed over this quiet stand of magnificent trees, it became more valuable as a novelty, as a clarion reminder of the great and expansive wilderness that once blanketed all of the Appalachians. Then, in 1936, spurred on by a regional forester to protect “one of the very few tracts of virgin hardwood in the Appalachians,” the United States Forest Service purchased the area and created the living memorial to Kilmer that it is today.
Sadly, the original designation only protected the 3,800- acre memorial forest and much of the surrounding area was eventually logged. However, the power of a wilderness legacy to inspire was proved when 13,500 acres of contiguous forest was added to the Kilmer. The result is the 17,000- acre Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, a true gem in the Southern Appalachians.
Beneath the Canopy of an Appalachian Old Growth Forest
While a visit to any part of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, in the Nantahala National Forest, is a rewarding endeavor, the first-time visitor would be remiss in not taking a sojourn in the Kilmer Memorial Forest itself. Many of the giant trees in the Kilmer reach more than 100 feet toward the sky and measure 20 feet around at the base. Yellow poplar, hemlock, and red oaks dominate the forest canopy, while dogwood, beech, and basswood fill the under story. Characteristic of ancient forests, signs of the continual regeneration taking place can be found everywhere on the forest floor with fallen trees in every stage of decomposition providing space and nutrients for their successors.
Sheltered beneath the towering canopy is a tapestry of life in smaller proportions. In early summer, broken morning sunlight briefly touches scattered patches of wildflowers and raise steam off the areas small creeks, creating the mystical illusion of an enchanted forest. Thick mosses, slick green rocks, tangled roots, huge mushrooms, and brightly colored newts heighten the magical feel of this rare forest. Within its deep, misty shadows, the imagination is called to run wild and time is called to stand still. The damp air and profusion of vegetation that blankets its floor like a living quilt create a peace and quite found in few other places in the populous east.
Beyond the memorial forest, the greater Wilderness area continues to reward its visitors with rugged and untrammeled habitat. Most of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness is comprised of the cascading Little Santeetlah and Slickrock Creek drainages. Finding homes within the rugged rock outcroppings are black bear, wild boar, and deer. The Kilmer-Slickrock forest has recovered greatly from the logging and resultant wildfires that decimated the area a century ago. In places, one would be hard-pressed to find evidence of these abuses.
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