species of mammals are recorded by Clark et al. 

 (1985) for pure white cedar forests: Virginia opos- 

 sum, gray squirrel, long-tailed weasel, white-tailed 

 deer, black bear, and the Dismal Swamp short-tailed 

 shrew, which was previously thought endemic to the 

 Dismal Swamp. The other species listed (Appendix 

 B) are found in mixed cedar swamps. Mainland Dare 

 County is one of the few remaining coastal areas in 

 the southeastern United States that currently harbors 

 a substantial black bear population (Noffsinger et al. 

 1984). 



Breeding bird diversity in Alligator River 

 swamps is considered by Lynch and Peacock (1 982) 

 and Potter (1982a) to be exceptional both because 

 of the diverse habitats present and the structural 

 diversity of the mixed swamp forests in particular. 

 The wood warblers are especially well represented, 

 with 10 species breeding in the cedar forest com- 

 munities. The black-throated green warbler, a very 

 local breeder in the coastal plain of North Carolina, 

 is abundant in mature pure and mixed Dare County 

 cedar stands. Two other uncommon to rare nesting 

 species in the coastal plain, Swainson's and worm- 

 eating warblers, are also fairly common throughout 

 the Alligator River cedar associations. Swainson's 

 warbler prefers shrub thickets within mature mixed 

 swamp forests stands having a closed canopy; it was 

 not recorded in pure white cedar stands. Worm- 

 eating warblers are less habitat specific, occurring in 

 mature swamp growth, pure cedar stands and sec- 

 ond-growth scrub (Peacock and Lynch 1982). 



Breeding bird species diversity in this area 

 exhibits an increase with increasing tree height, ap- 

 parently as a consequence of the additional vegeta- 

 tional strata present (Noffsinger et al. 1984). 

 Breeding species found in various cedar associa- 

 tions are listed in Table 14. 



In winter the most abundant species ob- 

 served by Potter (1982a) in pure cedar stands are 

 pileated woodpecker, Carolina chickadee, and pine 

 siskin. In mixed forests, robins are one of the most 

 common winter residents feeding extensively on fruit 

 of red bay, and when that preferred source is scarce, 

 on greenbriar berries (Potter 1982a). 



The rare Hessel's hairstreak butterfly 

 {Mitoura hesselli), which is consistently found as- 

 sociated with white cedar throughout its range (see 

 Section 5.3.3), has been collected as recently as 

 1980 at six white cedar dominated sites on the Dare 

 County mainland (North Carolina Natural Heritage 

 Program Data Base, unpubl). Hessel's hairstreak is 

 listed in North Carolina as a species of special con- 

 cern. 



7.5 MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS AND OPTIONS 



The recent and ongoing white cedar harvest 

 on the Dare County mainland resulted from contracts 

 let before the establishment of the Alligator River 

 Wildlife Refuge and registration of natural areas on 

 the U.S. Air Force Dare Bombing Range. To assure 

 that extensive cedar forests are once again a com- 

 ponent of the wetland system, active management is 

 necessary for both the vegetation and the supporting 

 abiotic systems. 



Baseline mapping covering the time and 

 location of recent harvests and the size and density 

 of timber removed, information essential for develop- 

 ing a management program, is available in the 

 records of Atlantic Forest Products (G. Henderson, 

 pers. comm.). Selective timber harvest of cedar for 

 perpetuation of older stands is not a pressing need 

 at this time and probably will not be for 50 to 75 years. 

 As no documentation is yet available on the natural 

 "break-up" or successional process in pure cedar 

 stands in this region, monitoring the natural senes- 

 cence of the few remaining older stands will be valu- 

 able. Extensive recently cut areas offer the 

 opportunity for comparison studies of wildlife habitat 

 and vegetation succession patterns under a variety 

 of management regimes for slash, competing 

 vegetation, and water 



Continuation of the U.S. Geological Survey 

 hydrological monitoring program should help clarify 

 the complex hydrodynamics of forested peatlands, 

 while water levels essential for cedar growth are res- 

 tored and regulated. Although many aspects and 

 problems of the Alligator River NWR differ significant- 

 ly from that of the Great Dismal NWR, the hy- 

 drological planning and experience in the Dismal 

 (USFWS 1986b) may prove useful (see Section 2.4.1 

 and 6.4.10). 



Fire is a major force in the development of 

 vegetation types on the Dare mainland. Monitoring 

 the long-term effects of wildfire and controlled burns 

 (see Sections 6.1.1, 6.4.6, 6.4.7) will provide 

 guidance for effective management. 



The multiple uncertainties of management 

 strategy for cedar wetlands, the lack of under- 

 standing of basic processes that govern them, and 

 the patent paucity of hard data combine to forcefully 

 document the urgent need for both basic and applied 

 research on the ecosystem and its components. The 

 Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge affords an ex- 

 cellent long-term observation and research site for 

 these purposes. 



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