Return to North Carolina's Assessment of Need (draft)
Area 1: Lower Cape Fear/ Lower Lumber
Description of Forest Legacy Area and Important Environmental Values
Historically dominated by longleaf pine and its associated plant and animal communities or by bottomland hardwood swamp communities, the Lower Cape Fear/ Lower Lumber FLA includes some of North Carolinaís most extensive forest expanses. The Lower Cape Fear/Lower Lumber FLA spans Robeson, Bladen, Columbus, Brunswick, Sampson, Pender and New Hanover Counties. This area contains much of the geographically important Carolina Bay complex. Much of the area has been converted to modern pine plantations, but within these expanses, the variety of natural plant community types is still extraordinary, including such unique plants as the carnivorous Venus fly trap. Black bear habitat exists in immense blocks including virtually inaccessible swamplands.
From the Lumber River State Park on the west to extensive forest industry lands on the east, this FLA incorporates a full range of partners engaged in sustaining values of working forests in North Carolina. The Nature Conservancy manages the Green Swamp to preserve its unique natural features systems, and International Paper Company manages extensive lands primarily for timber and paper production. The NC Division of Forest Resources manages Bladen Lakes State Forest on the northern boundary of this area.
Natural communities of particular
interest found in this area include Coastal Fringe Evergreen forest,
Maritime evergreen forest, Maritime deciduous forest, Small depression
pond, Vernal pool, Pine savanna, Wet pine flatwoods, Small depression pocosin,
Bay forest, Peatland Atlantic white cedar forest, Pond pine woodland, High
pocosin, and Low pocosin. Natural Heritage Areas that have been identified
in the FLA include Lower Buck Landing Swamp, Piney Island Swamp, Net Hole
Swamp, Bluff Swamp, Princess Anne Swamp, Big Sandy Ridge, Fair Bluff Swamp,
Boiling Spring Lakes.
Current and Future Conversion Pressures
Historically, agricultural conversion led to drainage in extensive areas of pocosin and associated natural communities. Forests returned or were planted on much of the abandoned land. Temporary drainage and conversions of low production areas to pine plantations increased the acreage of forested land.
Now, along the coast, this area is
among the fastest growing in North Carolina. Suburban sprawl surrounds
Wilmington. Golf course and retirement communities are expanding
at a tremendous rate on the mainland along the southern coast in Columbus
and Brunswick Counties. Proximity to barrier islands and beaches
prompts commercial development to take advantage of the seasonal influx
of vacationers. Federal and state wetland regulations have placed
a premium value on upland forested sites where development can occur.
Goals and Objectives of FLA for Public Benefit
Maintain large contiguous blocks of working forest lands.
Enhance protection of the Cape Fear Riverís Nutrient Sensitive Waters.
Buffer unique natural areas (such as the Green Swamp, pocosins and Carolina bays) from encroaching subdivision and development.
Provide habitat for black bears, RCWs, and a number of other protected species found in the region.
Connect designated preserves and reduce
landscape fragmentation.
Potential Partnering Entities
Lumber River Conservancy
Northeast New Hanover Conservancy
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
North Carolina Division of Forest
Resources
North Carolina Division of Parks
and Recreation
North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission
The Nature Conservancy
Boundary Description
North Carolina/South Carolina border from
I-95 to the coast.
Along the coast to the Cape Fear River.
Along the west bank of the Cape Fear River
to the US421/ US117 intersection.
Along US117 to the Northeast Cape Fear
River.
Downriver to US421 and the Seaboard Coast
Line RR.
North along US421 to NC41.
Along NC41 to Elizabethtown and then to
I-95 at Lumberton.
Along I-95 to the South Carolina border.
Figure B-1.
Lower Cape Fear/ Lower Lumber Forest Legacy Area