Harris Glade — Falkville (Gladey Woods)

About This Property

Harris Glade — Falkville (pseudonym: Gladey Woods) is a Morgan County property owned by the Harris family and referenced in the NFWF Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund grant materials as the “Harris Property.” The property name reflects the presence of glade habitat — naturally open areas on thin, rocky soils that support rare and regionally endemic plant communities.

Conservation Management

Limestone glade conservation at this property follows the calibrated guidance developed from scientific review by Alabama A&M University:

• Glade & barrens conservation — reducing encroaching woody vegetation (focusing on privet, honeysuckle, and invasive shrubs rather than wholesale cedar removal); maintaining open glade character; avoiding soil disturbance on slow-recovering glade communities
• Invasive species management — controlling Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle, and other invasives that are degrading glade habitat; the primary threats identified by experts are lack of fire and human-caused degradation, not cedar encroachment per se
• Prescribed burning — where appropriate for fire-maintained glades, reintroducing low-intensity burning on a 3–5 year cycle; site-by-site determination required since some glades are edaphically maintained and do not need fire
• Wildlife habitat enhancement — improving habitat for species dependent on open glade and grassland conditions

Location

Morgan County, North Alabama — Falkville area.