6.5 THE FEDERAL ROLE 



6.5.1 In National Forests 



Four national forests contain 

 Chamaecyparis thyoides: Croatan in North Carolina, 

 Francis Marion in South Carolina, and Ocala and 

 Apalachicola in Florida. Pursuant to the Forest and 

 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

 (RPA) as amended by the National Forest Manage- 

 ment Act (NFMA), the U.S. Forest Service prepared 

 long-range land and resource management plans for 

 the national forests. 



Morman Branch Botanical Area (Ocala Na- 

 tional Forest) and Mud Swamp/New River Wilder- 

 ness (Apalachicola National Forest) contain about 

 95% of the Atlantic white cedar in the national forests 

 in Florida. Management direction has not yet been 

 developed for these areas, nor was direction given in 

 the Final Land and Resource Management Plan. 



6.5.2 In National Parks 



Thechargeofthe National Park Service, U.S. 

 Department of Interior, is to preserve and protect 

 their lands while permitting use that does not adver- 

 sely affect the resource. At present, their policy is to 

 use active management only to reverse the effects of 

 human disturbance or to mitigate the impact of 

 natural disasters. 



The only National Park with Atlantic white 

 cedar is the Cape Cod National Seashore, Orleans, 

 Massachusetts. The swamp, co-dominated in part 

 by red maple, contains cedar of varying ages and 

 sizes with a substantial Sphagnum and herbaceous 

 carpet. A boardwalk cuts through the cedar stand 

 which is maintained for public education and passive 

 recreation. The Service is currently conducting re- 

 search to determine if the area should be actively 

 managed. 



6.5.3 In National Wildlife Refug es 



The major National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) 

 containing Atlantic white cedar are Great Dismal 

 Swamp (GDSNWR) in eastern Virginia and North 

 Carolina (described in Section 2.4.1), and Alligator 

 River NWR in Dare County, North Carolina (to which 

 all of Chapter 7 is devoted). The management plan 

 for GDSNWR is outlined in Section 6.4. 1 0; the current 

 plan for Alligator River does not deal with cedar 



management (USFWS 1986c). A few small stands 

 grow along streams and below dams in Sandhills 

 NWR, South Carolina (J. Nelson, pers. comm.). 

 Prime Hook Creek NWR, one of Delaware's impor- 

 tant natural areas, also contains at least one small 

 cedar stand (N. Dill, pers. comm.). There are no for- 

 mal management programs for the minor cedar 

 areas. The Refuge system is administered by the 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



6.5.4 On State and Private Lands 



Federal support for private nonindustrial 

 forestry is provided via grants to each state. Funds 

 are available for nursery, wetlands, and forest 

 management; the states are responsible for estab- 

 lishment of good management practice standards. 



New Jersey is currently the only state that 

 has an active management plan providing for 

 regeneration of Atlantic white cedar (see Section 6.4 

 [esp. 6.4.10]). The program is in effect on State 

 lands, and in the entire Pinelands National Preserve 

 (G. Pierson, pers. comm.). 



6.6 RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS 



The overall objectives of research needed in 

 the management of Atlantic white cedar wetlands 

 are: 1) to define the biological, chemical, and physi- 

 cal spatial and temporal patterns required for cedar 

 wetland maintenance, restoration, and creation; 2) to 

 determine the most effective designs for restoration 

 and creation of wetland functions; and 3) to develop 

 methods to monitor and evaluate projects aimed at 

 achieving these objectives. 



Synthesis of existing information and the filling 

 in of gaps in these data provide the framework for 

 the first objective. The development of techniques 

 to support the second and third aims is in its infan- 

 cy and provides an opportunity for cedar wetland 

 workers to make major contributions to the field of 

 freshwater wetland creation and restoration. 



Brief outlines of selected biological and 

 physical research needs are at the end of Chapters 

 4 and 5; Chapter 7 ends with requirements pertinent 

 to the Alligator River NWR, many of which are ap- 

 plicable to other sites. 



The maintenance and revitalization of cedar 

 wetlands are both the opportunity and the imperative 

 for those entrusted with their management. 



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