Blackbelly, LLC

About This Property

Blackbelly, LLC is a property spanning Etowah and St. Clair counties in North Alabama, explicitly named in the NFWF Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund grant materials for forest management activities. The property represents the type of closed-canopy hardwood forest common across the Cumberland Plateau region — land that appears healthy but functions narrowly as wildlife habitat due to decades of fire exclusion.

Conservation Management

The forest management program planned for this property includes:

• Timber stand improvement — selective removal of less-desirable trees to favor oak, hickory, and shortleaf pine; opening the canopy to restore light to the forest floor
• Prescribed burning — reintroducing fire to restore open woodland and savanna structure once TSI provides adequate fuel and reduced canopy
• Invasive species control — removing Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle, and other invasives that have colonized the understory
• Wildlife habitat enhancement — creating structural diversity (snags, brush piles, edge habitat) to support bobwhite quail, grasshopper sparrow, and other target species

Location

Etowah County (with portions in St. Clair County), North Alabama — within the Cumberland Plateau region.