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A Friends of DuPont Forest Membership Benefit SPRING 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Friends of DuPont Forest P. O. Box 2107 A Walk on the Wild Side 1 Brevard, NC 28712 Back in the Day With….….Channing Hubbard 3 Stocking Fish in the Forest 4 Note From the Editor 4 Fly Fishing in DuPont 5 What Do Retired Forest Supervisors Do? 6 Volunteer Appreciation 7 Oskar Blues Supports the Forest 7 Forest Supervisor’s Report 8 Tour de Falls 8 I Spy With My Naked Eye 8 President’s Report 9 Business Membership 11 Events Calendar 12 A Walk on the Wild Side Article & photos by Alan Cameron Bobcats Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are elusive and very wary so most people do not realize that they are as plentiful as they actually are. In the wild they can live to 12 years or older and can attain weights of 30 pounds. They can easily bring down a grown deer. Bobcats are the most abundant wildcat in the United States and they have the greatest range of all native North American cats. Males are referred to as “toms,” females as “queens,” and the young are called “kittens.” A group of bobcats is called a “clowder.” Bobcat lays claim to deer carcass Though bobcats prefer to eat rabbits, they will hunt a variety of things including insects, chickens, small rodents, deer, and geese and other birds. They prefer to kill their own prey but, as can be seen in the accompanying photos, they will also come to my Golden Eagle photo site in the DSRF that is baited with road- killed deer. There they often take over the deer for several days and prevent other animals from feeding. Bobcats are solitary and territorial. They breed from winter into spring and have a gestation period of about two months, similar to that of house cats. Bobcat sightings in this area are often reported as “mountain li- ons”. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's stand on mountain lions is that there are none in the state. Bobcat with deer (Continued on page 2) A Walk on the Wild Side (Continued from page 1) Heartleaf Heartleaf’s capsule-like flower I have found French Broad Heartleaf at over 60 locations in the DSRF and one of the easiest places to see it is at Bridal Veil Falls. There are many plants on the sides of the trail from the view- ing platform down to the lower area. French Broad Heartleaf Spotted Salamander Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are not at all rare in North Carolina is the nation's epicenter for varieties of Heartleaf this area but they are rarely seen because they spend most of their plants with nine species occurring in our state. But only one species lives in burrows in upland forests, and they come out to forage for appears to be in the DSRF. It is called French Broad Heartleaf worms, insects, spiders, and snails only at night. (Hexastylis rhombiformis) and is listed by the state as They are a very large salamander and can grow to as much as ten “Significantly Rare” and by the Federal Government as a “Species inches long. They are also very long-lived with ages of 30 years of Concern”. This species was first identified in 1982 and has been being recorded. found only in parts of Henderson, Transylvania, Buncombe and Polk Counties. Pollination is by wasps, flies and thrips, but seed dispersal is by a species of ant. The seeds are cov- ered with a sweet substance that the ants like so they carry the seeds to their nests, eat the sweet Thrips image taken stuff, and then discard the seeds from the Internet on their trash pile where they ger- minate. So Heartleaf plants are often found coming out of old ant nests. They are also occasionally found growing out of rock crevic- es that had housed former ant colonies. This evergreen grows close to the ground like Galax, and it is often found with Galax. It can easily be distinguished because the edge of the Galax leaf is serrated whereas on Heartleaf it is smooth. Heartleaf plants flower in early spring, but the capsule-like flower Spotted Salamander has such a short stem that it is usually under the surface of the leaf litter at the base of the plants. (Continued on page 10) 2 The Little River Watermark DuPontForest.com Back in the Day With…….. Channing Hubbard Article by Nancy Kay I recently sat down with Mr. Channing Hubbard. In addition to be- ing my friend and neighbor, Channing is a veritable wealth of infor- mation when it comes to the history of DuPont Forest and the sur- rounding area. He knows just about every nook and cranny of the Forest and was one of the very first employees of the DuPont Cor- poration. I asked Channing what things were like back in the day when DuPont Corporation was up and running. Here are his responses (paraphrased by me) to my questions: How long have you lived in the area? 78 years. When did you begin working for the DuPont Corporation? In 1956. It’s 1974 and opening day at Hubbard Field. Channing Hubbard (Second from the right) is ready to cut the ribbon. How long did you work there? 37 years. What were the biggest challenges? The biggest challenge was surveying the DuPont property. There What positions did you hold and what were your job responsibili- were 41 miles of property line because, back then, there were ap- proximately 3,000 more acres of DuPont property than there is to- ties? day. My job was to post no trespassing signs and mark the property My work began with DuPont Construction. This company built line with yellow paint. The challenge was that I encountered things Silicon Manufacturing, the business that preceded the DuPont X- like buildings, fence lines, and pastures encroaching on the DuPont ray Manufacturing Plant. When I worked for DuPont Corporation, I property. I had to meet with the people involved and negotiate held multiple positions over the years including: labor, melt room agreements. In some cases we changed the DuPont property line to operator, and other operator positions in manufacturing. I also accommodate them. In other cases, we kept the property lines as served as employee counselor, recreation director, plant and proper- they were. Some people were very happy with me and others were ty security supervisor, forester manager, cafeteria manager, custom- not. er relations, employee recreation manager, and other random re- sponsibilities. When you worked for DuPont what recreational activities did As the forester manager, I put a stop to the cutting of hardwood employees get to enjoy? trees that was so prevalent at the time. The desirable hardwoods Employees were allowed to do most anything - hunting, fishing, were all being removed, leaving the undesirable species, something swimming, cutting wood, camping, picnicking, shooting rifles and that wasn’t consistent with the original contract. I was involved bows and arrows, dancing, playing softball, and riding 4-wheelers, with planting thousands of new trees, and I did my best to be a good motorcycles, and horses. DERA supervised all of these activities. steward of the forest. Employees had to sign in at the plant gatehouse before they could participate in activities on the property. There were two people working at the gatehouse 24/7. One stayed at the gatehouse and the I helped establish and was the first president of the DuPont Em- other patrolled the property. ployee Recreation Association (DERA) that began when I was working with Silicon Manufacturing. I wanted to get all the em- ployees and their families out into the forest to hike, see the water- What was your favorite way to recreate in the Forest? falls, and picnic. DERA continued on at DuPont and I maintained Fishing and riding a 4-wheeler. my involvement with it. In fact, the ball field that I helped build across the road from the current Visitor Center was my idea. I was What do you think is important for people to know about the so involved with this project that the field was named after me. I cut Forest? the ribbon on opening day. In 1929 the property was evaluated and surveyed for the purpose of providing hydropower. The property located near the Guion and What did you enjoy the most about your work with DuPont? known as the Flat Woods was to be a 336-acre lake on Grassy I enjoyed it all. It was a pleasure to work for DuPont. Creek. A dam was to be constructed near Grassy Falls to create the (Continued on page 10) Spring 2016 The Little River Watermark 3 Stocking Fish in the Forest Article and photos by Jack Soyak In 2002 an idea was put forward by John Carney (now deceased), a past FODF Vice President, along with a member of the Trout Un- limited Pisgah Chapter. Their idea was to stock the Little River with trout in the DuPont State Forest. The river had previously been stocked with fish when the DuPont Corporation owned the property. John Carney discussed this idea with then Forest Supervisor David Brown, and Powell Wheeler a Fishery Biologist at the North Caroli- na Wildlife Resources Commission. He soon had the support of the Trout Unlimited Pisgah Chapter, FODF, and David Brown. Car- ney, Wheeler, and several members of the Pisgah Chapter surveyed the Little River and determined stocking locations, from the pond below Hooker Falls to the outflow from Lake Dense near the inter- section of Conservation Joanna Roads.

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