Field Guide · Habitat
Grassy Balds
Treeless, grass-covered summits in a region that should, by every rule of climate, be forested to the top.
Sunrise on Black Balsam Knob in the Great Balsam Mountains, one of the best-known balds in North Carolina.
- Documented in
- Big Yellow Mountain, Black Balsam Knob (one source), Great Smoky Mountains, Gregory Bald, Nantahala Mountains, Roan Highlands, Unicoi Mountains (one source), Wayah Bald (one source)
- Characteristic species
- Gray's Lily
- What they are
- Open, grass- and sedge-dominated summits and ridges, mostly above 4,500 feet
- Where
- Scattered across the high Blue Ridge, from the Smokies to the Roan
- Origin
- Debated; natural, Indigenous, and settler-era grazing explanations all have support
- Trend
- Shrinking as forest and shrubs reclaim them; many are now actively managed
- Examples
- Round Bald, Jane Bald, Grassy Ridge Bald (Roan); Black Balsam Knob (Great Balsams); Andrews Bald, Gregory Bald (Smokies); Max Patch
At a glance
Grassy balds are the open, meadow-like summits that appear on some of the highest ridges in the Southern Appalachians. Unlike the alpine zones of New England or the Rockies, they are not above treeline; the climate here would support forest to the very top, and on most high summits it does. The balds are the exceptions, and their existence is one of the region’s oldest natural puzzles.
Origins
No single explanation has won out. Some balds may have opened naturally after fire, ice storms, or windthrow. Many were certainly kept open by grazing: Cherokee burning and, later, the summer pasturing of cattle and sheep that settlers practiced on the high ground until the national forests and parks took over. What is agreed is that most balds began closing in once grazing stopped, and that blackberry, hawthorn, and spruce reclaim them within decades if nothing is done.
Management today
On the Roan, the balds are maintained by a combination of mowing and seasonal goat grazing. In the Smokies, the National Park Service manages Andrews and Gregory balds and has let others return to forest. Each decision is a judgment about which version of the mountain is worth keeping.
Sources and further reading
- BaldsNational Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Highlands of RoanSouthern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy