INTRODUCTION 



The 13,850-acre Green Swamp tract, five miles north of Supply, N.C., in 

 Brunswick County, was given to the North Carolina Nature Conservancy (NCNC) 

 by Federal Paper Board Corp., Inc. (FPB) in 1977. The area contains a broad 

 array of lower Coastal Plain ecosystems and wildlife habitats, many of which 

 are becoming increasingly rare due to agricultural and forestry expansion. The 

 vast majority of land is pocosin, a thick shrub community atop organic peat. 

 Pocosin provides much open space and habitat for a number of large mammals 

 including deer, black bear, bobcat, and reputedly, the eastern cougar. 



More important, especially from a management/stewardship perspective, is 

 the floral diversity of the swamp. Fifteen insectivorous plants, twelve 

 orchids, seventeen endangered or threatened species, one plant — purple balduina 

 ( Balduina atropurpurea ) — previously unrecorded in North Carolina, and twenty-one 

 species of sphagnum are among the numerous plant species found within the 

 property boundaries. Many of these are located in the approximately 230 acres 

 of savannah scattered as "islands" along ridges within the tract. Expanses 

 of green grasses and sedges laden with wildflowers beneath tall, straight, 

 longleaf pines provide a beautiful and fascinating setting for researchers, 

 educators, and casual observers. The longleaf pines provide food and nesting 

 for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The Green Swamp contains some 

 of the finest examples of "wet" savannah in the nation. 



Most of the property lies on a broad, flat, marine terrace between fifty 

 and seventy feet above sea level. The southern edge lies along the Penholoway 

 escarpment, an ancient shoreline. The land here is dissected by broad, shallow 

 valleys, and the soils are generally drier. Two projections of the property 

 extend into this scarp, the Myers-Clemmons area along N.C. Rt . 211 and the 

 Beaverdam farther east. These tracts contain most of the 950 acres of pine 

 plantations as well as several natural longleaf, loblolly, and bottomland 

 hardwood stands, Carolina Bays, and a series of limestone (marl) sinks. 



The significance of the Green Swamp as a natural area was recognized 

 nationally by its designation in 1974 as a National Natural Landmark. Long 

 before this acknowledgement, its remote beauty was appreciated by many local 

 people, while educators, botanists, zoologists, and ecologists have utilized 

 the swamp as an outdoor laboratory. Active management will be required to 

 protect, maintain, and enhance the unique natural features and habitats of 

 the Green Swamp. It is hoped that the following stewardship plan will supply 

 basis and direction to continued management for many years to come. 



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