VOLUME 16 // ISSUE 3 FALL 2016
NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL LAND TRUST
COASTLINES By Janice Allen Deputy Director, Coastal Land Trust
Monsters T on the Meherrin
here is nothing more aweinspiring than big trees. Their stature and girth command respect; their immensity and age capture our imagination. The Coastal Land Trust certainly has protected some large and wondrous trees over our 24 year land conservation career, including a state champion red bay at our Sea Gate Woods Preserve in Carteret County (for more on state champion trees, read Todd Pusser’s “The Last Giants, Searching for Champion Trees in North Carolina,” March–April 2016, Wildlife in North Carolina, magazine). While these single tree records are incredible, it is even more fun to conserve a forest of giants. This past January we did just that with the purchase of additional land along the Meherrin River in Northampton County from Conservation Forestry, LLC. The Coastal Land Trust’s new 526-acre nature preserve hosts an amazing old growth floodplain forest, one that we could easily dub our “Big Tree Preserve.” We always knew this out of the way place along the Meherrin River
Land Encroachment North Carolina Coastal Land Trust/ US Marine Corps Encroachment Partnership Projects Completed to Date, 2016 4 10 years 4 23 projects 4 3 counties 4 9,263 acres 4 1:1 state and federal funds invested 4 Lands were conserved adjacent to bombing ranges and main bases and within flight paths and noise buffers 4 A new stormwater retention area and a new park purchased for the City of Havelock 4 A legacy farm, longleaf forests, wetlands, and high quality waters all protected 4 PLUS one new Nature Preserve for the Coastal Land Trust: Everett Creek
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NATURE TRIVIA
A Civil War Event in Our Own Backyard By Caroline Kealoha, Coastal Land Trust Stanback Summer Intern, and Brian Kraus, Civil War Historian ne of the best parts of travelling the coastal plain of North Carolina, aside from seeing the natural beauty of the land, is seeing all the historical highway markers. Learning bits of history helps anyone, from Native North Carolinian to tourist, develop an understanding of how we all were influenced by the actions of our ancestors. As any cautious driver learns, it is nearly impossible to read all of the descriptions on the signs while safely steering the vehicle in the lane. Finding out the rich history of North Carolina is a fascinating adventure, and fortunately for the Coastal Land Trust, a notable path of the Civil War crossed right through one of its preserves – no highway signs necessary. The Gales Creek Preserve at Camp Sam Hatcher is located in Carteret County near the Croatan Forest in Newport. A walk through the property and a familiarity with surrounding geography explains exactly why the land was pivotal in the Civil War. The Preserve has access to the Bogue Sound through a series of creeks, making it an ideal place to receive supplies.
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was special. Mike Schafale of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program pointed it out to us several years ago, highlighting its relatively pristine condition and extensive population of Douglass’ bittercress, a rare plant (numbering there in the thousands). But it is the big trees on the property that really stood out to us. On a recent site visit, Lee Leidy, our Northeast Region Director, exclaimed, “There are some monster trees in there!” Yes, monsters on the Meherrin. Most of the forest is quite mature, with trees averaging 16 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) but with many trees reaching 20 to 30 inches dbh! Canopy trees include bald cypress, willow oak, cherrybark oak, swamp chestnut oak, water tupelo, laurel oak, willow oak, shagbark hickory, tulip poplar, and green ash. Perhaps no state records exist, but the quality, quantity, and diversity of big trees are exceptional. These big trees provide copious food in the form of acorns and seeds, and shelter (cavities and knotholes) for all sorts of wildlife—ducks, bats, woodpeckers, squirrels. Some of the
The Coastal Land Trust’s Dam Creek Preserve hosts a large population of this rare animal species: A. Carolina gopher frog (Rana capito) B. Duke’s skipper butterfly (Euphyes dukesi) C. Carolina swamp snake (Seminatrix pygaea paludis) Answer on page 7
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