PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST (828newsNOW) — The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has been developing a Helene Restoration Division team for the implementation of a 10-year Tropical Storm Helene habitat restoration plan in Pisgah National Forest and Nantahala National Forest.

The plan is funded through a partnership with the United States Forest Service for the revitalization of forests impacted by Helene and other recent storms. When Helene hit Western North Carolina in late September 2024, it wreaked havoc on local ecosystems, triggering landslides, flooding and destruction of manmade and natural habitats.

The NCWRC plan will focus on “infrastructure impacts, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitat restoration, species population monitoring and restoration and re-establishing access for hunters, anglers and other wildlife users across both forests,” the agency said.

“It’s an enormous undertaking,” said Doug Besler, NCWRC HRD chief. “The area of impact from the hurricane on the National Forests is very large and impacts so much infrastructure and various aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that it is daunting to try to determine an efficient way to address those impacts in areas that we have access to.”

The next phase of work will be an assessment of the forests to identify the most vital projects to tackle.

“Until now, most of the work has been in developing the agency team with the skills and knowledge needed for this kind of restoration work and ordering the equipment the teams will need to complete the projects,” said Besler. “We have spent a considerable amount of time coordinating with Forest Service staff and other cooperative partners to begin the assessment process which will define the critical projects. Although it is normal to want to jump into projects, the funding will only go so far given the scale and scope of impacts, so it is crucial that we are identifying the right projects in the right locations to be completed at the right time.”

One of the first projects completed by the HRD was the replacement of four damaged culverts with stream crossings on a U.S. Forest Service road in Pisgah National Forest.

“That single project opened up access to a previously inaccessible wildlife opening, created passage for a brook trout population, opened up hunter access and will now allow the treatment of non-native invasive plant species,” said Besler. “We look forward to working on many more of these important projects over the next decade.”

Follow the progress of NCWRC HRD efforts at www.ncwildlife.gov/wildlife-habitat/hurricane-helene-restoration.