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North Carolina's Assessment of Need (draft) |
Conserving North Carolinaís Forests: Assessment of Need for the Forest Legacy Program [FINALDRAFT - 8/24/99]
Table of Contents Table of Contents List of State Stewardship Committee Members List of Forest Legacy Subcommittee Members B. Extent and Ownership Patterns
E. Forest Based Recreation and Tourism F. Wildlife and Fisheries Resources H. Water Resources and the Link to Forests I. Critical Issues Impacting North Carolinaís Forest J. Existing Measures to Conserve North Carolina Forests K. Land Trusts in North Carolina L. Forest Legacy Public Participation (in process) M. The Forest Legacy Program in North Carolina--Addressing the Critical Issues
P. Appendices Appendix A. North Carolina Forest Legacy Program Application
Appendix C. Questions and Comments from the Public Appendix D. Authorizations and Communications
Figure 1. Federal Land Ownership in North Carolina;
includes all agencies.
Figure B-1. Lower Cape Fear/ Lower Lumber
Forest Legacy Area.
Table 1. Designated Wilderness Areas in North Carolina.
Stanford Adams
Kevin Cook
John Ramey
Phillip Fallan
Charles Fullwood
Dr. Larry Tombaugh
Dr. Norm Christensen
Mary Kollstedt
Dewey Botts
Ed Jones
Ron Bost
Gary B. Blank, Ph.D.
Jerry Cody
Elizabeth Crane
Rick Hamilton
George Lloyd
Mark Megalos
John Monroe
Wib Owen
Linda Pearsall
Charles Roe
Robert Trickle
David B. Williams,
The Forest Legacy Program authorizes the USDA Forest Service or state governments to purchase permanent conservation easements on private forest lands. The program acquires certain land-use rights that both promote effective forest land management and protect the land from conversion to non-forest uses. Forest lands that contain important scenic, cultural, and recreation resources, fish and wildlife habitats, water resources, other ecological values, and that will support continuation of traditonal forest uses receive priority. Enrolled landowners must follow a management plan designed for their forest. Activities consistent with the management plan--including timber harvesting and recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking--may be permitted. A number of states, mainly in the northeastern United States, have already qualified and been enrolled in the Forest Legacy Program. A number of properties have been acquired in those states since the programís inception. Modifications in the program to broaden its appeal have prompted interest on the part of conservation groups and state agencies in North Carolina to participate. In order for the State of North Carolina to participate in the Forest Legacy Program, the state was required to produce a document assessing need for the program. This document lays a factual and procedural foundation for program implementation. It describes the forest resources of North Carolina, the efforts and programs available for effective conservation in the state, and the process used in identifying where in the state priorities for action exist. In places it builds upon preceding studies, such as the Sustainability Task Force report (Task Force 1996). Throughout, it focuses attention on links between North Carolinaís forests and its citizenís quality of life. The document identifies eight Forest Legacy Areas (FLAs) where the protection efforts, hence funds, provided under the Forest Legacy Program should be applied if North Carolina is accepted into the program. For each of the eight FLAs, the document (1) identifies the FLAís general characteristics and environmental values at risk (2) describes kinds of threats to those values in the FLA, (3) identifies entities that will work together for conservation within the region defined by the particular FLA, and (4) specifies the FLAís geographic boundaries within which properties may be considered for the program. The document presents evaluation criteria and scoring that will be used to rate potential parcels on which acquisition of property development rights will be pursued. Definitions of key terms instrumentally important to understanding
North Carolinaís approach to implementing the Forest Legacy Program are
provided in section M, where procedures used to identify FLAs are presented.
Evaluation criteria and ranking procedures for assessing the tracts whose
owners apply for Forest Legacy status are included in Appendix A.
Descriptions of the eight Forest Legacy Areas are contained in Appendix
B. Public comments and responses are summarized in Appendix C.
North Carolina's Forest Resources Prior to European settlement, North Carolina was mostly forested, and Amerindian tribes were dispersed throughout this forested landscape. Accounts by early European explorers traveling through North Carolina suggest that the natives used fire to modify the forest's condition and that they relied upon subsistence agriculture for significant portions of their diet. However, disturbance from such Amerindian activities created localized or mostly temporary impacts. The primary forests of North Carolina were extensive and varied. Longleaf pine forests dominated most upland soils in the southeastern part of the state, while floodplains and riverine swamps supported hardwood species. Mixed pine-hardwood forests covered most of northeast North Carolina. Hardwood forests dominated by oak, hickory, and pine covered most of the piedmont landscape. Oak and chestnut dominated mountain slopes up to about 4,500 feet elevation with spruce and Fraser fir covering the highest elevations. Rich coves supported hemlock and yellow poplar. Dogwood, cedar, magnolia, and many other species added to the diversity. Earliest settlements along North Carolina's coast initiated clearing for agriculture and development of a plantation culture and economy. Later, poor overland transportation routes funneled migration up rivers like the Cape Fear, and from the valleys settlers moved out across the interstream divides. Eventually yeoman farmers rather than plantation owners dominated North Carolina's agriculture-based economy, and forests were subjected to a variety of assaults. In the 1700s the naval stores industry began to affect longleaf forests so that by mid-century North Carolina was the leading producer of tar and turpentine. North Carolina's market dominance continued for more than a century until depletion of longleaf stands caused production to shift south by 1890. Further west, as settlers moved into the North Carolina piedmont beginning in the mid 1700s, lumbering and clearance for agriculture and pasturage increased rapidly. By the close of the Civil War in 1865, the state was perhaps only one-third forested, and most of the primary forest remaining was in the mountainous western portion of the state. Most of this mountain timber was cut in later decades of the 19th century and early decades of the 20th. Amid growing national concern over the condition of forest lands in the United States, scientific forest management was first introduced on the Biltmore Estate and Pisgah Forest in 1892. George Vanderbilt's acceptance of scientific management led him to hire Gifford Pinchot and then Carl Schenck to manage his forest lands. Schenck's perceived need for trained foresters to carry out scientific management led to his creation of the Biltmore Forest School and a tradition that has had continuing impact on forests of North Carolina and the nation. Regeneration of forests, through natural succession on abandoned agricultural land, with loblolly, short-leaf, and Virginia pines and various oaks, resulted in a slow recovery of the state's eastern forest cover. Acquisition of cutover lands in the mountains led to formation of national forests, which have provided the basis for the high percentage of land remaining in forest in that section of North Carolina. By the mid-twentieth century, North Carolina had over 20 million acres of forest. That acreage has declined to about 19.3 million acres today. Even with that decline, 58 percent of North Carolina remains forested with some of the most diverse forest types and the widest range of species occurring in North America. B. Extent and Ownership Patterns ofNorth Carolina Forests Of the 33.6 million acres in North Carolina, 19.3 million acres (58%) are forested. The majority of the forestland (18.7 million acres) is classified as timberland, while the remainder is classified as reserved timberland or woodland (i.e., forested parks, wilderness areas, scenic areas, and historic sites). Nearly half of North Carolina's timberland and 62 percent of all softwood timberland are found in the Coastal Plain. The Mountain region is the most heavily forested of the three regions because of its rugged terrain and large public holdings. Hardwood species dominate the Mountains. The Piedmont contains the remaining 30 percent of the forestland in the state, with 55% of the land area in that classification. Urbanization, agriculture, and small public holdings make it the least forested region. Almost 76 percent (14.3 million acres)
of North Carolina's timberland is owned by individuals, corporations, and
farmers--collectively known as nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF)
owners. Forest industry owns about 13 percent (2.4 million acres); the
remainder is in public (stae and Federal) holdings (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Federal Land Ownership in North Carolna: includes all agencies Ownerships of less than 20 acres account
for 16 percent of our forests, while 42 percent of forest acres occur in
ownerships between 20 and 100 acres. The remaining 42 percent of forest
acres occur in tracts greater than 100 acres.
Figure 2. Division of Forest Resources
and University Owned Forests in North Carolina
Even after centuries of manipulation, intensive extraction of timber and other resources, and widespread cultural developments, North Carolina's forests remain extensive and productive overall. Their economic value, as will be discussed, arises as much from their diversity as from their general abundance. Composition of the state's forests can be explained from several perspectives. Geography, Geology and Soils North Carolina's extraordinary variety of natural resources is related to the diversity of its landscapes, which can be divided into three distinct geographical regions-- the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Mountains. The relatively flat Coastal Plain extends inland from the Atlantic Ocean an average of 125 miles and includes almost two-fifths of the area of the state. This region has only moderate hills, and the land slopes very gently upward from the coast at an average of about 1 foot per mile. The Piedmont, or central portion of the state, is separated from the Coastal Plain by a distinct landscape change called the "fall line," which may have been the location of the shoreline thousands of years ago. The Piedmont is a plateau of rolling hills with a range in elevation of 150 to 1,000 feet. This region includes about two-fifths of the state's area. The Mountain area contains two principal mountain ranges, the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains. This section, which makes up about one-fifth of the area of the state, is marked by numerous peaks, valleys, and cross chains of mountains. Forty-three of the peaks have elevations of 6,000 feet or more, and 80 peaks have elevations of at least 5,000 feet. The coastal plain is a geologically young area which once lay at the bottom of a shallow sea. From the acid, peaty and poorly drained soils common to the ocean front, it gently rises in a series of low terraces westward through sandy loams of low fertility to the fall line. The piedmont is an ancient upland lying between the coastal plain and the mountains. A rolling plateau in the east, it rises to the foothills in the west. Its soils are primarily red and yellow clay loams created from the weathering of parent rock. The mountains are ancient landforms rising from about 1,300 feet at the piedmont's western edge to some of the highest peaks in the eastern U.S. Here, aspect and elevation combine with a wide range of soils to create a forest of very great diversity. Forests have played a major role in developing the characteristics of our soils, which make them, when properly treated, very productive. Virtually all of North Carolina's soils were formed under forest cover. Before clearing of land for agriculture began, forests contributed to development of deep, fertile layers of topsoil through recycling of nutrients and decomposition of organic matter. In many old fields, topsoil has mostly been destroyed during three centuries of agricultural land clearing. Even after decades of regenerated forest growth, many sites still show the ill effects of past use and abuse. Forest Diversity North Carolina forests consist of more than 180 tree species. These forests are divided into five general management types: upland hardwood, lowland hardwood, pine-hardwood, natural pine, and plantation. However, within these management types many different natural plant communities occur. At last approximation, Schafale and Weakley (1990) had identified 44 forest community types and subtypes across the state. Differences in plant communities result from complex interactions of site factors including altitude, aspect, hydrology, geology and soils. As noted above, historical circumstances have played major roles in creating the stateís current forests. Managing the future of these forests depends on understanding their diversity and distribution. Upland hardwoods consisting primarily of various oak and associated species dominate the Mountain region. The lowland hardwood type is most commonly found in the Coastal Plain. Pine-hardwood forests consist of a mixture of pines and oaks found most often in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. The natural pine management type also is found in the Coastal Plain. Plantation, the final management type, consists primarily of loblolly and longleaf pine plus a few other softwood types. They are found mostly in the Coastal Plain and account for 11 percent of forested areas in our state. The Upland Hardwood Management Type amounts to about 38.6 percent of the state's forest cover. It is found in all of the forest regions but is the dominant type in the mountains. Various oaks are the most frequently occurring species and are usually associated with yellow poplar, red maple, hickories, sugar maple, ash, birch and shortleaf and Virginia pines. The Lowland Hardwood Type comprises 14.2 percent of all forest land, and is found along major creeks, rivers, swamps and other low-lying areas. This type is most common in the coastal plain. Lowland hardwood sites are often subject to annual flooding. Typical species include sycamore, tupelo gum, elm, sweetgum, cypress, ash, birch, and oaks. Productive sites dominate large river floodplains while deep organic soils of pocosins contain some of our poorest lowland hardwoods sites. The Pine-Hardwood Management Type, also known as the oak-pine type, includes those forests where a softwood species shares dominance with hardwood species. Nearly 14 percent of the state's forest land supports this type, more than half of which is found in the coastal plain. The Natural Pine Management Type is found in all regions but is most common in the coastal plain. Natural pine, developing on abandoned agricultural lands, was for a while the state's most common forest type. Today this type comprises about 22 percent of North Carolina's forest. Natural pine type is increasingly being converted to pine hardwood type by natural regeneration, pine plantations following harvest, or to a non-forest condition via development. The Plantation Management Type is established by planting or direct seeding. Loblolly pine, longleaf pine, and eastern white pine account for most plantations. The extent of this forest type has been increasing steadily since 1950 and now comprises 11 percent of the state's forests. Plantations provide a means to achieve maximum rate of volume production on minimum acres. Investment in hardwood plantations has increased slowly in the last few years. It is expected that hardwood plantation establishment on lowland sites will increase in the future. The current physical status of North Carolina's forest lands is best determined by surveys conducted periodically by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) section of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station of the United States Forest Service. These data relate exclusively to standing tree volumes and, provide little information about related resource parameters which describe other ecosystem values (e.g. plant and animal habitat, diversity, recreation, and amenities). Minerals, Oil and Gas Resources Historically, a number of minerals were extracted in commercial quantities from North Carolina. The earliest gold rush in North America occurred in the southern Piedmont, and a federal mint was established at Charlotte. The productive gold region included about 9,000 square miles chiefly in the middle and western counties in six defined belts: Eastern, Slate, Igneous, Kings Mountain, South Mountain, and Mines West of the Blue Ridge (State Board of Agriculture 1896). Associated with the gold were deposits of silver, copper, lead, and zinc that were worked to varying extent. Iron deposits were found in scattered locations across the Piedmont and in the Mountains, and most of these were worked, but none of the lodes were extensive. Mineral coal deposits were confined to two limited areas: the Dan River belt and the Deep River sandstone belt. The latter extended from Granville County to Chatham County, but the only colleries operating at the turn of the century were the ones in Cumnock in Chatham County. Graphite was mined from extensive beds in Wake County and corundum was extracted from numerous locations throughout the mountains. Phosphate deposits occurred in Duplin, Sampson, Pender, Onslow, and Brunswick counties. Today phosphate mining of deposits on the Coastal Plain is the most intensive activity, but gravel and clay mining for construction uses occurs extensively throughout the state. In the mountains gem mining continues to be a locally important activity, especially associated with tourist traffic. Altogether, however, mining activity today has little effect on North Carolina's forests. Agriculture: Poultry, Swine, and Cattle; Tobacco and Cotton, Grains and Vegetables Historically tobacco and cotton production were major factors leading to deforestation in much of North Carolina. Additionally, pasture for mules, horses, and cattle required extensive forest clearing. Swine production also affected forests extensively, especially where free ranging livestock grazed in the woodlands, a practice continued until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The longleaf pine forests were particularly affected by hogs foraging on seedlings and thus eliminating or reducing potential regeneration of cutover and turpentined stands. Today North Carolina's agricultural produce is highly diversified, but the state remains among national leaders in poultry and swine production. Feed grains have assumed a much larger role than traditional crops of tobacco and cotton. Farming of assorted vegetables and fruits is regionally important, and processing of food crops is locally significant. Abandonment of worn out agricultural land led to reforestation of much of North Carolina in the last century through natural and plantation means, and as lands are retired from agriculture today they still are reverted to forest. D. Economic Value of North Carolina's Forests Standing timber in North Carolina is worth an estimated $19 billion. . In 1997, the forest products industry paid an estimated $787 million dollars to North Carolina landowners for wood to make products ranging from lumber to paper to furniture. The value added by the harvesting and transport of these trees to points of first processing was twice this figure. The value of wood products represents a considerable cash flow, especially to the rural economy--stimulating purchases, payrolls, investment, other manufacturing and services. Because the forest industry and other economic segments are interdependent, input-output models have been developed to quantify this interdependency. Multipliers from such models are used to estimate the effect of a one unit change in output, wages, or employment of an industry upon the other sectors of the economy with which it directly interacts. A wages and salary multiplier of 1.90 means that a $1 change (increase or decrease) in wages within the industry would trigger a change of $1.90 in wages among the sectors of the economy with which it is directly related. Since the forest industry harvests a natural renewable raw material to which value is added in many steps, the ripple effect upon the state's economy from the purchase of a tree to the ultimate sale of a paper tablet is unusually large. According to 1996 statistics, the forestry industry employed 144,000 workers statewide and paid out $3.47 billion in wages. The manufacturing process added another $7.9 billion, and the value of finished forest products totaled $17.3 billion. Wood products represent the state's largest export commodity in terms of tonnage. In terms of employment figures and the wealth added to the state, the forest industry ranks second among major industries. Additional forest products include a Christmas tree industry worth an annual wholesale value of $90 million to $100 million and a pinestraw industry worth an annual $50 million to $60 million. North Carolina resident hunters spent $58 million in-state on hunting trip-related expenses during the 1991 season, and the majority of these expeditions sought forest dwelling game species. Meanwhile, many people also participate in non-consumptive wildlife activities such as bird watching and wildlife photography. During 1991, state residents spent a total of $262 million on such activities for trip-related expenses, equipment, and other items such as magazines. In addition to the directly measurable
value that forests give to the state, many additional benefits cannot be
easily quantified. Forests provide habitat for game and nongame species
of wildlife, recycle nutrients, contribute to the development of fertile
soils through the decomposition of organic matter, and minimize soil erosion.
Forests provide clean air and water by filtering pollutants and other impurities
from the environment. Moreover, in North Carolina, forests provide the
scenic backdrop and many of the primary destinations for an immense recreation
and tourism industry.
E. Forest Based Recreation and Tourism North Carolina's forests have great value for recreation and visual amenity. Hiking, bird watching, wild flower identification, horseback and mountain bike riding, bus or automobile touring, and the simple search for solitude typically depend on forests. Scenic beauty provided by the forested mountains is an expected characteristic of areas proximal to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. These major attractions bring millions of visitors to and through the state. Moreover, these visitors usually patronize a wide range of other facilities, such as the privately owned and operated Grandfather Mountain. The four national forests in North Carolina--Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie, and Croatan--span the state, with two located in the mountain region, one lying in the Piedmont, and one situated on the Coastal Plain. All four national forests provide abundant campgrounds usable as many as eight months of the year. Furthermore, these national forests include eleven designated wilderness areas, the largest being over 18,000 acres and the smallest being 1,685 acres (Table 1). Table 1. Designated
Wilderness Areas in North Carolina.
The State of North Carolina operates
a number of state forests (Fig. 2) and a great variety of state parks--such
as Umstead, South Mountain, and Cliffs of the Neuse (Fig. 3). In
addition, local municipalities and counties operate parks that in many
cases are forested, such as three in Wake County: Lake Crabtree, Harris
Lake, and Blue Jay Point.
Figure 3. State Parks in North Carolina Even the two national seashores, Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout, include remnants of the Maritime forest which provide a visual quality unique to this ecosystem. Reservoirs--such as Lake Gaston, Falls Lake, Jordan Lake, Kerr Lake--built by the US Army Corps of Engineers are surrounded by forests that help preserve water quality and buffer boaters from views of developed lands proximal to these lakes. Similarly, numerous hydroelectric and cooling-tower supply reservoirs operated by public utilities, TVA, and other entities are surrounded by forests. Baden, Fontana, Harris, Hiwassee, Hyco, James, and Norman are just a few examples. In the mountains, the Qualla Boundary, home of the eastern band of the Cherokee and an important tourist and cultural resource, is almost entirely forested. Besides public lands already mentioned,
countless opportunities for recreation exist on privately held lands.
North Carolina landowners were surveyed in 1996 about reasons for owning
forest land (Megalos 1998); 13 percent of them indicated recreation (hunting,
camping, fishing, and birding), which ranked third behind land investment
(29%) and as a residence (18%).
F. Wildlife and Fisheries Resources North Carolina is home to 120 species of mammals, 200 species of resident and migrating breeding birds, 70 species of reptiles, 80 species of amphibians, 245 species of freshwater fish, and a large number of saltwater fish and invertebrate species. Among these animals, white-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, ducks, geese, doves, quail, and ruffed grouse are especially prized as game species. With adequate wildlife and fish stocks available, hunting and fishing continue to be popular sports in the state. According to the 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in North Carolina, 376,000 residents 16 years or older hunted in North Carolina in 1991. Also in 1991, 2.2 million North Carolinians 16 years or older took part in non-consumptive activities. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
(NCWRC) manages about 2 million acres of gameland in the state (Fig. 4).
This property is either owned by the NCWRC or leased to the NCWRC by government,
corporate, or private entities for public use by hunters and anglers. The
state also operates six fish hatcheries and stocks both trout and warm-water
fishes to maintain recreational fish stocks in heavily fished lakes and
streams. The big-game harvest in North Carolina has steadily increased
for most species as management practices improved. The NCWRC estimates
1995 populations of deer at more than 850,000, wild turkey at 85,000, and
black bear at 6,500 to 7,000. During the 1997-1998 hunting season the NCWRC
reported that 119,656 deer, 1,463 bears, 60 wild boars, and 2,890 wild
turkeys were harvested (Brooks 1998). Trapping for beavers, raccoon, muskrat,
and other furbearers continues in North Carolina, although low fur prices
have caused a decline in trapping in recent years. Beaver populations have
actually risen to a point where dams and the resultant ponds are frequently
viewed as detrimental to timber values, and eradication or relocation methods
are used against colonies.
Figure 4. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Game Lands Two state agencies cooperate to monitor
the wildlife of North Carolina. The Non-game Program of the NCWRC has the
legislative authority to list species in North Carolina that are endangered,
threatened, or of special concern. The North Carolina Natural Heritage
Program (NCNHP) supplements the NCWRC's list with species that are significantly
rare. Table 2. lists the numbers of animals in North Carolina that are
endangered, threatened, of special concern, or significantly rare.
Table 2. Status of
Animal Taxa on the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program's Rare Animal
List as of March, 1995.
Source: Natural Heritage Program List of
the Rare Animal Species of North Carolina
The NCWRC considers a native or once-native species endangered if its continued existence as a viable component of the state's fauna is in jeopardy or is determined to be endangered according to the Endangered Species Act. The NCWRC considers any native or once-native species to be threatened if it is likely to become endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range or it is designated as threatened according to the Endangered Species Act. A species of special concern requires monitoring. Significantly rare species are ones that do not fall into the above categories but are determined by the Natural Heritage Program to need monitoring due to their reduced numbers. Among the federally listed endangered and threatened species occurring in North Carolina, a minority depend wholly upon forest habitats. The Carolina northern flying squirrel and red-cockaded woodpecker are two such species. On the other hand, red wolves and bald eagles need certain types of forest conditions proximal to open ground and large water bodies, respectively. The condition of North Carolina forests may indirectly affect conditions in Critical Habitat areas that have been designated for certain species. For example, riverine and stream habitats where endangered fish and mollusk species (e.g., Cape Fear shiner, spotfin chub, Appalachian elktoe, and dwarf-wedge mussel) reside may be negatively affected by sedimentation and other pollution. Forest cover in adjacent riparian zones tends to lessen insults from such sources. Increasingly, the importance of ecosystem integrity is being recognized as the key to maintaining regional biodiversity and sustainability. A number of listed species exist in a unique area of our state known as the Sandhills, an area in the south-central portion of North Carolina occupying part or all of Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland counties. The Sandhills is recognized as one of the last large remaining pockets of longleaf pine. The red-cockaded woodpecker, the St. Francis' satyr butterfly and three plant species (American chaffseed, rough-leaved loosestrife, and Michaux's sumac) are federally listed species that inhabit this area. About a dozen more species are candidates for future federal listing. Clearly land use and forestry trends in this area can have important effects on the status of listed and protected species. It is important to note that all of the species just named require some degree of forest disturbance or manipulation for suitable habitat to be maintained. Major commitments of land for wildlife
have been made in North Carolina by both the federal and state governments.
National refuges include Alligator River, Lake Mattamuskeet, Pocosin Lakes,
Roanoke River, while a number of state gamelands exist: e.g., Batchelor
Bay, Holly Shelter, and Caswell State Gamelands (Figures 1 and 4).
North Carolina's forests provide habitat
for a large number of the most interesting and important plant and animal
species occurring in North Carolina. Many of these organisms occur only
in particular locations or sections of the state. North Carolina's Natural
Heritage Program (NHP) compiles information about the most significant
natural areas of the state, conducts inventories of biological communities
and species in individual counties across the state, and assists in resource
planning processes where knowledge of natural communities is needed.
NHP especially tracks the status of rare species and high quality natural
community occurrances. NHP also works with the USDI Fish and
Wildlife Service to identify in which of North Carolina's counties listed
as species occur. Figure 5 shows the general locations of Significant
Natural Heritage Areas identified in North Carolina.
Figure 5. Significant
North Carolina Natural Heritage Areas.
H. Water Resources and the Link to Forests North Carolina's forests play a vital role
in maintaining water quantity and quality by minimizing erosion and stabilizing
the flow of water into streams and rivers. Much federal forest land in
western North Carolina was originally purchased under Weeks Act authority
to protect watersheds. The fact that forests tend to render good
water can be seen when the areas of high quality and outstanding resources
waters (Fig. 6) are compared with the locations of national forest lands
(Fig. 1).
Figure 6. High Quality and Outstanding Resource Water Management Zones. Control over watersheds around major reservoirs
has long been exercised by various federal agencies and public utilities
authorized to create man-made lakes. Today municipalities like Asheville
and Andrews exercise strict control over their watersheds and carefully
manage the forests that protect the quality of their primary water supplies.
The water supply watersheds in North Carolina are extensive (Fig. 7).
Figure 7. Water Supply Watersheds Following recent large fish kills and pollution discharge incidents, special attention has focused on water quality concerns in the Neuse River Basin and other eastern North Carolina rivers. Regulations referred to as "The Neuse River Rules" are being developed, and observers expect that the same or similar rules will be imposed in other river basins identified as having nutrient sensitive waters. In relation to forests, the rules chiefly address the characteristics and treatment of stream buffers. More generally, a number of federal and state programs have arisen to address the relationship between forest cover and water quality. Reforestation of previously cleared and cultivated lands, especially highly erodable lands, receive high priority attention in these programs (see §J below). High Priority Watersheds identified by
the State Unified Watershed Assessment as most in need of restoration include
the following: Bogue/Core Sounds, Contentnea Creek, Haw River, Upper French
Broad, Upper Little Tennessee. The extent to which reforestation or better
management of forests surrounding these water courses is needed has not
been determined.
I. Critical Issues Impacting North Carolina's Forest In North Carolina, the perspectives observers have shape their perceptions of which issues are most critically impacting forests. For example, maintaining the timber supply for industrial uses and providing sufficient amounts of forestland for recreation are related but quite different concerns. Debate arises about whether or to what extent public or private lands should meet these needs. Opinions differ about how public lands are managed and how intensively private lands should be managed. Because 84 percent of North Carolina forest lands belong to private owners, a great many individual decisions and actions affect these forests. However, preserving North Carolina's forest legacy will require proponents to keep a number of critical issues in mind, no matter what their perspective. Development Conversion of land via development poses the most significant threat to North Carolina's forest legacy. In 1995, the Office of State Planning estimated that 7.1 million people resided in the state, a sharp increase (500,000) from the 6.6 million counted in the 1990 census and two-thirds of the entire previous decade's growth. Projections suggest that North Carolina's population will exceed 7.5 million by the end of this current year. Such growth in North Carolina is causing two kinds of development pressure. Urbanized Development: North Carolina is changing from a predominantly rural state to a state with large urban interests. Although a majority of North Carolina's 33 million acres is still classified as rural, more than half the population, estimated at 7.1 million people in 1995, lives in the 10 percent of the state that is urbanized. However, North Carolina is characterized by fewer large cities and relatively more mid-sized cities and small towns than most other states. While five cities (Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem) have populations over 100,000, 67 percent of North Carolina's municipalities have fewer than 2,500 residents. But many of these smaller entities are proximal to larger urban centers, resulting in population concentrations in large and sprawling metropolitan areas. The urban areas of the Piedmont are expected to witness the fastest growth, whereas the Mountains and the Coastal Plain will experience most of their growth in non-metropolitan areas. Urban sprawl is already an issue around the Research Triangle, Charlotte, and Piedmont Triad urban complexes. Retirement and Resort Community Development: Within the last two decades, growth of retirement and resort communities in North Carolina has increased tremendously. Along the North Carolina coast, in the Mountains, and in the Sandhills Region golf courses, ski slopes, and associated residential complexes have rapidly transformed once isolated rural areas into roaded concentrations of houses and service centers for a population drawn to North Carolina by the pleasant climate and tranquil pace of life. Because these communities do not typically attain the density of urban centers, they necessarily impact a greater amount of land per residential unit. Careful design of these communities can retain appreciable amounts of forest and natural areas, but the overall result can be a higher degree of fragmentation of natural communities and loss of working forest land. Eventually, growth of such communities requires upgrades to an area's infrastructure, which usually leads to another round of development. Eventually, growth of such communities requires upgrades to an areaís infrastructure, resulting in even more land conversion. Taxation Related to development issues, the
subject of taxation regarding forested properties poses important
questions about how county and local governments intend to allow growth
and land conversion to proceed in their jurisdictions. Present use
valuation pertaining to non-industrial private lands does not protect private
industry lands from appreciating in value as surrounding properties develop.
As appraised land values rise, economic forces within the real estate marketplace
and competitive pressures within specific industries force companies to
consider selling lands or converting them to non-forest uses. This
issue especially affects large forested blocks proximal to urbanizing centers
or already protected areas attracting recreational and second home development
in several parts of the state. County and local governments may be
enamored with increases in their tax base but forget relationships between
population growth and the need to provide government services. They
may forget the value of retaining the very forests that make their locality
an attractive place to reside.
Fragmentation (Land Use and Tenure) Resulting in part from population growth and increased development, fragmentation of forested areas leads to a number of problems. Steady increases in the numbers of forest landowners reduces average tract size in private ownership, which may have a positive or negative effect on North Carolina's future forests. Small ownerships have fewer management opportunities, cost more per unit area to manage, and cost the state more to provide advice and protection. On the other hand, the rapid rise in the number of 10 to 20 acre tracts serving as residences or second homes underlines growing importance of visual quality and privacy as personal justifications for land ownership. These reasons give some assurance that high percentages of such tracts will retain some or most forest cover, yet not as working forests. However, the longevity of such a development pattern as land prices rise and tax rates increase is questionable. Subdividing these "mini-estates" may be inevitable, hence increase fragmentation. Fragmentation of forests alters habitat for wildlife species. Increased edge effects from the creation of smaller parcels and the infrastructure (roads and utility lines) required to serve these parcels lead to changes in the wildlife community able to sustain viable populations. Constraints on management because of smaller tract sizes and proximity of residences to forest areas also lead to habitat changes that favor some species but disfavor others. The dependency of certain animal species on specific types of forest and certain conditions in those forests makes protection and intentional management of habitat an important legacy consideration. Forest Mortality Trees die due to natural causes:
weather, insects, disease, and suppression. The extent of mortality
is an indicator of the overall health of our forests. The rate of
softwood mortality reflected in the 1990 FIA data is essentially the same
as that reported by the 1984 FIA report.
Growing Stock Growth versus Drain The USDA Forest Service FIA defines growing stock volume as the cubic volume contained in merchantable portions of commercially valuable species. Net growth is defined as growth of growing stock trees minus the volume of trees dying of natural causes. Drain refers to the volume of trees harvested. As long as there is a surplus of net growth over drain, the forests can easily produce a sustainable flow of wood fiber to industry. The most recent survey data show a softwood harvest of 512 million cubic feet of growing stock and net softwood growth of 590 million cubic feet. On forest industry and public forest lands, growth exceeded drain by a very comfortable margin, but drain amounted to 102 percent of growth on non-industrial private forest lands. Incentives for better management on private lands are intended to improve the growth to drain relationship, which would in turn alleviate pressure to increase harvests from public lands. Curtailment of burning as a viable management practice Fire has affected North Carolina's forests naturally since their origin. Longleaf pine communities evolved and cannot be maintained without relatively frequent fires. Other forest types have experienced fires at varying intervals. Forest management today relies on using prescribed fire to accomplish a number of objectives: wildfire hazard reduction, regeneration site preparation, competition control, and wildlife habitat management. The legality of prescribing fire is unquestioned. The threat of liability related to fire use has recently been eased by the an act of the NC General Assembly. But the desirable outcomes from using fire are jeopardized by those who object to the smoke generated by prescribed burning. Moreover, development proximal to forests and public outcries when nearby forest lands are burned have limited opportunities and daunted those who would apply the practice. Changes in forest composition, visual quality, forest health, and ability to function as working forest may result. Lack of Sustainable Product Markets Where no markets or weak markets exist for forest products, maintaining working forest lands becomes nearly impossible. Conversely, without adequate supplies of suitable raw material, no markets develop. Persistently weak markets for small diameter raw material or certain species of wood have impeded management of forests in parts of North Carolina. Because markets historically only took the highest value logs, past high-grading--selection logging that takes the best trees and leaves the rest--resulted in many forests of relatively low quality today. In order for these lands to be maintained as future working forests, they will require effective regeneration, which entails creating markets for available low-value wood. Action aimed at restoration of economically viable and biologically productive stands is the key to sustaining working forests. J. Existing Measures to Conserve North Carolina Forests A variety of approaches have been used in North Carolina to address conservation of forests and natural areas. One innovative example of action taken to conserve forest resources in NC is the private-public partnership approach taken to create the Lower Roanoke River Bioreserve (Dolan 1996). "Many protection tools were used to acquire land including the establishment of a mitigation bank with the N.C. Department of Transportation, tax-free land exchanges, bargain sales, land gifts, conservation easements, and informal, non-binding registry agreements. The objective was to always find a means of protecting land that benefitted both buyer and seller" (p.81). The federal and state government have several easement programs for protecting farm and forest land. These programs may or may not require a perpetual easement on the property. Most provide technical assistance and incentives payment for required management practices. The major agencies involved in assisting landowners with either technical assistance, assistance programs, easement programs, or a combination of the three include the N.C. Division of Forest Resources, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Cooperative Extension Service. The various programs active in North Carolina are described below. Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF)
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP)
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP)
Farmland Protection Program (FPP)
Forest Development Program (FDP)
Forestry Incentives Program (FIP)
Forest Stewardship Program (FSP)
North Carolina Conservation Tax Credit
Program
North Carolina Partners Project
North Carolina's Wetlands Restoration
Program (NCWRP)
USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Safe
Harbor Program
USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Partners
for Fish and Wildlife Program
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
(WHIP)
K. Land Trusts in North Carolina Land trusts are non-profit groups created and sustained to preserve and enrich the natural heritage of countryside through direct land protection, using appropriate tools such as profitable conservation easements, voluntary protection agreements, estate planning, donations, and bargain sales. Organized at local levels, land trusts provide people and communities with choices of how rural and urban green spaces are used. Linked through a statewide umbrella, the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, grassroots land trusts have safeguarded more than 50,000 acres of woodlands, farmlands, greenways, and waterways across the state. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a national organization with local affiliates, has been integrally involved in protecting land in North Carolina. Table 3 lists the land trusts in North Carolina and indicates the amounts of land they have protected. Table 3. Land Trusts
in North Carolina and Amounts of Land Protected.
L. Forest Legacy Public Participation Public involvement has been a key factor in defining North Carolinaís approach to Forest Legacy from the beginning of the stateís effort. At an introductory meeting in February 1999, more than 30 persons representing land trusts and state agencies, upon hearing about the program from the USDA Forest Service, agreed that Forest Legacy participation was desirable and that the Division of Forest Resources would lead the effort to participate. Subsequent confirmation of this desire and then endorsements by state-level advisory committees led to creation of this assessment of need (AON) document and a process soliciting public information and conversation about the forest legacy areas (FLAs). The FLAs were created as discussed in the next section (M.1-3) Presenting the draft AON and the identified FLAs on the Internet
was intended to reach the widest audience possible. Regionally distributed
local meetings were held across the state during the week of July 12, 1999
(Table 4) to inform people of the program, to explain the assessment process
underway, and to receive information from people specifically knowledgeable
about issues and conditions in the FLAs being considered. These meetings
were especially necessary to guide the steering committeeís work of adjusting
FLA boundaries and refining FLA descriptions. As a result of information
obtained through these meetings, adjustments to the FLAs were made to reflect
the urgency and conditions specific to portions of the state where legacy
areas had been identified.
Table 4. Locations and Times of Forest Legacy
Educational Forums.
Following the week of meetings, further information was received as participants sent in the forms distributed at the meetings, and several lengthy letters supporting the forest legacy idea and stating the critical issues in particular parts of North Carolina were received. Organizations such as the Southern Environmental Law Center and Western North Carolina Alliance underscored the serious threats to forests in North Carolina and raised specific questions or issues they wished to see addressed in the AON. Typically, the majority of these issues had already been addressed in the next draft by the time the comments were received. The Forest Legacy Steering Committee conducted a teleconference
on August 12, 1999 to present its findings and the FLAs identified.
Seven sites, at university campuses across the state and the Mountain Horticultural
Crops Research and Extension Center in Fletcher (Table 5), were linked
for interactive video discussion. The meeting agenda included an
update on the draft AON document, presentation of GIS maps showing the
FLA boundaries, and explanation of the individual tract criteria-ranking.
Questions were solicited throughout the presentations and dialogue ensued
at each stage of the teleconference. The number of participants was
smaller than expected, ranging from one participant besides the site host
at several locations to 13 in Raleigh. Judging from the audience
response, however, the conference succeeded in clarifying several of the
questions that had been raised through the preceding process, and the general
level of satisfaction by those engaged in the process seems high.
Several specific points, especially concerning FLA boundaries, were noted
that needed to be addressed by the committee when it met for its final
debriefing and project completion.
Table 5. Locations of the Teleconference Studios.
In summary, public participation opportunities during the course
of developing the AON have been constrained somewhat by the pace at which
the assessment has progeressed. However, the range of participantsí
interests and perspectives that have been evidenced meets the reasonable
expectations of the program proponents in North Carolina. From the
beginningof the assessment process the conservation and land trust interests
have been engaged and informed of the process and the emphasis that would
be placed on forest retention in North Carolina. They have given
their ideas and been eager to get on with the project in North Carolina
and, most importantly, they have concurred with the identified threats
that developement pose to North carolinaís traditional working forests.
Public Input to Forest Legacy Area Descriptions
Your name and address: ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Area ___: _________________________________ Description of Forest Legacy Area and Important Environmental Values
Current and Future Conversion Pressures
Goals and Objectives of FLA
Potential Partnering Entities
Boundary Description To be completed after public comment and further review Please return to this form with your suggestions for consideration to:
Figure 8. Form for Public Input to Forest Legacy
Area Descriptions.
M. The Forest Legacy Program in North Carolina--Addressing the Critical Issues The Forest Legacy Program in North Carolina will emphasize the importance of maintaining working forests as part of current and future landscapes. This emphasis on working is consistent with centuries-long traditions and remains demonstrably important to maintaining qualities of life North Carolinaís people desire. Working forests can provide wood for extraction, clean water and air, necessary habitat for game and non-game species, recreational space, visual beauty, tranquillity, and an array of specialty items such as mushrooms, medicinal plants, mistletoe, pinestraw, etc. Working forests produce economic, aesthetic, and spiritual values perceived to varying degrees by people from widely varied perspectives. Working forests provide the aforesaid renewable resources and values under the direction of a management plan designed to meet defined objectives in a sustainable manner. The management plan can include any and all of the objectives acceptable under the Forest Stewardship Program. Maintaining working forests that
will generate these values becomes increasingly problematic in light of
the threats previously identified in this document. For that reason,
the Forest Legacy Program in North Carolina must assign priority to (1)
areas that retain the highest environmental importance, as recognized by
the parties engaged in the process, and (2) areas that are now or will
soon be most threatened with conversion from their status as working forests.
Definitions The following terms are defined for specific use in this Assessment of Need document. conservation: as popularly understood, this means applying sustainable management practices in a manner sensitive to the range of environmental values associated with a specific tract and its component parts. conversion threat: any action that would change forested land to wholly or partially developed conditions that impair traditional forest uses and thereby diminish traditional values associated with forests (see Appendix A, Part B. Evaluation Factors). environmentally important forests: lands that contain scenic, cultural, and recreation resources, fish and wildlife habitats, water resources, other ecological values, and that will support continuation of traditonal forest uses (see Appendix A, Part B. Evaluation Factors) Forest Legacy Area (FLA): a geographically defined space within which forested properties may be identified so property development rights can be acquired and traditional forest uses can thereby be perpetuated. Forest Legacy property: a specific tract to which a conservation easement procuring development rights has been applied, specifically under terms of the NC Forest Legacy Program, using evaluation criteria set forth in this assessment of need document. partnering entity: an organization or agency that owns forest land, works to conserve forest land, or will be involved in monitoring conservation easements on forest lands identified as Forest Legacy properties within North Carolinaís defined Forest Legacy Areas. preservation: as popularly understood, this means preventing alterations of the forest that would not occur under wholly natural circumstances. protection: prevention of actions
that would convert forested land to developed conditions.
1. Eligibility Criteria To be eligible as a North Carolina Forest Legacy Area, an areaís forest land must meet all of the following criteria: o be threatened by present or future conversion to non-forest uses; o be threatened with conversion by encroaching development, by subdivision, or fragmentation of critical wildlife habitat; o provide for continuation of "working" forest uses; o contain one or more of the following important public values: - large block of contiguous forest
o provide potential contributions to local economies 2. Assessment of Forest Legacy Areas Examining the critical issues and determining environmentally important characteristics that would establish priorities for Forest Legacy Area (FLA) identification, the steering committee came to several key agreements. (1) The focus of FLAs would need to be set beyond extra-territorial jurisdictions (ETJs) of major urban centers; land inside these ETJs is too expensive in most cases for the program to make a concerted effort to protect. That does not mean opportunities cannot be pursued by other means or that such pursuit is not encouraged. But priority proximal to urbanizing areas should therefore be placed on lands considered to be at the rural-urban interface. (2) Another agreement was to consider river basins as much as possible in identifying FLAs. This approach makes good sense because water quality maintenance is one of the critically important environmental issues in North Carolina. Moreover, agencies at the federal level have undertaken ecosystem management initiatives using river basins as natural boundaries. In several cases, however, legacy areas overlap river basins because the large blocks of contiguous forest that need protection occur at the headwaters of adjacent watersheds. (3) FLAs would be large enough to allow connectivity among large blocks of still economically viable working forests and already protected areas and would therefore incorporate a variety of forest communities and natural areas. One hope of the proponents is that corridors can be created and gaps prevented between large sections of habitat that still exist in critically threatened parts of the state. (4) While all parts of North Carolina are still forested, preservation of every possible portion of the stateís forest legacy may be desirable but not possible. FLA priorities need to be established and FLAs will obviously not cover all parts of North Carolina. (5) Sites given priority by local groups can and should be focal points within the larger, defined areas of Forest Legacy at the state level. Local community and partnering arrangements among private and public interests are to be fostered by the identification of North Carolinaís state level focus on areas. Based on their collective knowledge
of the forests of North Carolina and the pressures on those forests, steering
committee members identified a number of general areas across the state
that they thought should be considered further. Information provided
by local land trusts and other groups also identified candidate areas.
Thus, the list of FLAs was assembled so further information could be solicited
and gathered to refine the committeeís understanding of priorities.
Public educational forums held across the state were especially instrumental
in refining the boundaries of areas listed in section M.3.
Examining the critical issues and determining environmentally important characteristics that would establish priorities for Forest Legacy Area (FLA) identification, the committee came to several key agreements. (1) The focus of FLAs would need to be set beyond extra-territorial jurisdictions (ETJs) of major urban centers; land inside these ETJs is too expensive in most cases for the program to make a concerted effort to protect. That does not mean opportunities cannot be pursued by other means or that such pursuit is not encouraged. But priority proximal to urbanizing areas should therefore be placed on lands considered to be at the rural-urban interface. (2) Another agreement was to consider river basins as much as possible in defining FLAs. This approach makes good sense because water quality maintenance is one of the critically important environmental issues in North Carolina. Moreover, agencies at the federal level have undertaken ecosystem management initiatives using river basins as natural boundaries. In several cases, however, legacy areas overlap river basins because the large blocks of contiguous forest that need protection occur at the headwaters of adjacent watersheds. (3) FLAs would be large enough to allow connectivity among large blocks of still economically viable working forests and already protected areas and would therefore incorporate a variety of forest communities and natural areas. One hope of the proponents is that corridors can be created and gaps prevented between large sections of habitat that still exist in critically threatened parts of the state. (4) While forests still exist in all parts of North Carolina, and preservation of every possible portion of the stateís forest legacy may be desirable, FLA priorities need to be established and FLAs will obviously not cover all parts of North Carolina. (5) Sites given priority by local groups can and should be focal points within the larger, defined areas of Forest Legacy at the state level. Local community and partnering arrangements among private and public interests are to be fostered by the identification of North Carolinaís The following Forest Legacy Areas have been identified (note that no priority is meant by the numbered order of this list): |