PISGAH FOREST, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A Can-Am Defender Max Limited was gifted to The Pisgah Conservancy this morning at the Pisgah Ranger Station. For the conservation group, it’s a huge deal.
The Pisgah Conservancy is an organization that works closely with Pisgah National Forest and their rangers to protect the forest and keep the area safe for recreation. It employs six full-time field staff that oversee trails, recreation and plant life, as well as staff that work with donors and other beneficiaries of the Pisgah Forest.
The non-profit was founded in 2015 as a branch dedicated to securing the funding and resources necessary to keep the forest as healthy as it is loved.
The donation of the Can-Am UTV by Hunter Power Sports in collaboration with Can-Am for a Cause is one example of a service that The Pisgah Conservancy helped facilitate.
The Can-Am is a side-by-side utility vehicle, allowing multiple riders to traverse tricky terrain, which is especially useful for forest service.
“It’ll be of great use,” said Jeff Maitz, the Chief Operating Officer at The Pisgah Conservancy. “This’ll let us get tools, materials, stuff for treating invasives, kind of deep back into the forest in the spots where we couldn’t otherwise.”
Hurricane Helene greatly impacted Pisgah Forest, downing trees and closing trails, many of which were left inaccessible to traditional vehicles. That won’t be a problem for the Can-Am, though the full scope of the damage is not yet known.
“The first two weeks, we were working side by side with the Forest Service doing those emergency access responses,” Maitz said. “Clearing all the roads, making sure we could get to a spot where we could open safely for the public. So now, this week, we’ve started a full-scale organized assessment of every Forest Service gated road, of all the trails.”
The Pisgah Conservancy operates in the same office as the Forest Service and their work closely aligns with the federal organization. In the days to come, both groups will collaborate on dealing with the storm damage in Pisgah Forest.
John Cottingham, the founder and executive director of The Pisgah Conservancy, introduced the Can-Am before it was driven to a work station. Cottingham had an immense amount of gratitude towards Hunter Power Sports for donating the vehicle after the damage the dealership sustained from Helene.
“I don’t know all the details, but I know you guys lost a bunch of cars and other vehicles from flooding and that sort of thing,” Cottingham said. “On the heels of that, we get a message that you’re giving us this thing, and it’s like, that is so incongruously beautiful and wonderful. I want you to know how much we appreciate it.”
Cottingham and Maitz posed for a picture with several Hunter representatives and Forest Service employees in front of the Can-Am. It was the perfect snapshot of the teamwork and generosity that continues to sustain Pisgah National Forest.
