Project Spotlight
Environmental Enhancement Grant
Download: Panthertown Valley EEG for Trail Repairs and Revegetation Project (2.9MB PDF)
Summer 2024 –
The U.S. Forest Service Nantahala Ranger District is working closely with Friends of Panthertown and the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River to restore and remediate natural resources in Panthertown Valley through stream bank stabilization, trail improvements, and riparian buffer installations at seven impacted areas within the valley.
This essential stewardship project is currently underway at multiple sites in Panthertown Valley in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Nantahala Ranger District and the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River.
Remediation plantings with temporary fencing, backcountry boardwalks on Wilderness Falls Trail, and a 100 foot long bog bridge on Panthertown Valley Trail will be installed by Friends of Panthertown staff and volunteers over the next year. Plantings are expected to be completed by the end of the 2024 season. Temporary fencing will be installed and area detours may be required during the project to accomplish the work. Thank you for your patience.
Questions and comments may be addressed here.
The U.S. Forest Service Decision Memo on this project may be downloaded here.
Background Info About The EEG Funding
Friends of Panthertown was awarded a $35,000 Environmental Enhancement Grant (EEG) in 2022 by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to help fund a major restoration and remediation conservation project in Panthertown Valley. In 2000, the North Carolina Attorney General and Smithfield Foods entered into a 25-year Agreement that, in part, provides $2 million per year for environmental projects across the state. This money was used to establish the EEG Program that has awarded environmental grants since 2002 to preserve and enhance North Carolina’s natural resources. EEG funds have been used for projects such as wetland restoration, land acquisition, storm-water remediation, stream stabilization, and buffer installations, among many others. EEG funds have been used to conserve over 31,000 acres, rehabilitate 249 abandoned hog lagoons, and about one-third of the projects improved or added to public lands.
Remediation Plan
In accordance with U.S. Forest Service specifications, native grasses, sedges, and other appropriate plants will be revegetated at extremely eroded areas of Schoolhouse Falls and the Sandbar Pool. Temporary fencing and signage will be installed to protect the newly planted areas to allow the native plants to establish themselves. Temporary closures and trail detours may be required.
Backcountry Boardwalks
Puncheons (as seen above) are small elevated wooden structures designed by U.S. Forest Service and built by Friends of Panthertown that sit atop the ground over continuously wet spots on the Wilderness Falls Trail. This 8 foot section was constructed by volunteers in June 2024. Additional sections were built in August 2024. Thank you to our partners and volunteers! We appreciation you.
Panthertown Bog Bridge
A 100 foot long backcountry boardwalk will be built along the most eroded section of Panthertown Valley Trail bordered on both sides by an ecologically sensitive wetland. The “bog bridge” will provide pedestrians and emergency services access to this popular stretch of trail connecting the east and west entrances of Panthertown.
A Collaborative Effort
Friends of Panthertown is working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Nantahala Ranger District and the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River (WATR) to remediate these impacted areas in Panthertown Valley. This project is a collaborative effort. Friends of Panthertown is administering the grant, has provided supplemental funding, is managing the project, and is coordinating the volunteers and contractors. WATR is providing their expertise and helping Friends of Panthertown remediate the stream banks with native plantings.
Environmental Impact
NEPA was completed.
