Roughly 480 million years ago, the Appalachian Mountains began to rise on the ancient supercontinent of Pangea. Over time, their jagged peaks—once comparable in height to the Alps or Himalayas—weathered into the soft ridges and valleys we recognize today. In their erosion, the Appalachians gave rise to one of the most biologically rich regions in the world, home to hundreds of endemic species, from rare salamanders and freshwater mussels to the imperiled spruce-fir ecosystem.

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities lived with, shaped, and stewarded these lands—long before they were named the National Forests we now know. The Southern Appalachians consist of the Cherokee, Pisgah, Nantahala, George Washington & Jefferson, and Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in the southern part of the mountains. These five Forests are united by shared topography, climate, species, and culture. This connectedness is why the region is so exceptional.

Over the past year, as a Conservation Connect Fellow with the National Forest Foundation, I have had the opportunity to explore these exceptional Forests, focusing on the region's vulnerabilities and resilience. Conservation practitioners and land managers have long recognized vulnerability in the region, focusing on connecting ecosystems and improving watersheds. I quickly learned that administrative boundaries do not silo the work of the Southern Appalachian region; rather, the subregion uniquely utilizes landscape-level collaboration to address these vulnerabilities.

In recent years, a landscape-level call for resilience, or the ability to withstand change, has only grown with intensifying storms and wildfires placing new pressure on ecosystems. From day one, it was clear that building resilience across this landscape—ecosystems, infrastructure, waterways, etc.—was a top priority.

Then came Hurricane Helene.

Though its full effects weren’t immediately visible to all, the stories that followed made one thing clear: the vulnerabilities, many of which regional partners were aware of, were exacerbated by the hurricane. Its impacts stretched across counties, states, and entire forests—damaging trails, toppling trees, and testing the strength of landscapes and the communities who depend on them.

When this happened, the Southern Appalachian team I was working with was thrown into an unprecedented response regime, and I got a front-row seat to the entire journey. Notably, this included the creation of broad-ranging communication tools designed to convene Helene's data and to understand impacts at the Forest and community levels.

Narrative

In creating this tool, a StoryMap, I gained an extra appreciation for the importance of narrative. Narratives can tell a story powerfully, spotlighting intense changes, such as those we experienced after Helene.

I've had the privilege of speaking with experts and local community leaders, including four in-depth interviews with individuals from Western North Carolina who experienced Hurricane Helene's impacts firsthand. Their stories—of loss, adaptation, and commitment to the land—became the heart of a StoryMap project that combines spatial data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Weather Service, the Forest Service, and private land consultants with local knowledge and lived experience.

It’s in this weaving together of science and storytelling that resilience comes to life. Maps can show impact, but stories show meaning—who was affected, how the land around them was impacted, and what people see every day—and inform firsthand recommendations towards resiliency planning.

Resilience

In addition to this gained value for narrative, the word "resiliency" guided my day-to-day involvement, whether assisting with data entry for NEPA processes, helping categorize public comments, or shadowing Forest Service employees as they tackled the countless behind-the-scenes tasks that keep Forest systems running.

These seemingly small acts—compiling intake forms, drafting communication tools, or attending collaborative meetings—are part of a larger, steady drumbeat of resilience-building across the region.

What's next for the National Forest Foundation in the subregion is a continued focus on post-Helene recovery efforts: prioritizing high-impact restoration projects and telling the story of keystone ecosystems like the Red Spruce, whose recovery carries profound implications for biodiversity adaptation.

In the Southern Appalachians, everything is connected: the Forests, the watersheds, the species, the people. In the wake of disaster, the work continues: steady, strategic, and grounded in the belief that resilience is something we grow together.

Grace Garrity is a 2024 National Forest Foundation Conservation Connect Fellow and recently received her master’s degree from Ohio State University School of Environment and Natural Resources. The past year, Grace has enjoyed working with the Southern Appalachian subregion to "tell the story" of the landscape. Hurricane Helene swept over the region in September 2024, altering the lives of those living in the region and the trajectory of the fellowship. Through collaboration, support of her supervisors, and some creativity, the final StoryMap product was proudly created to tell a story no one had quite anticipated.