18. Uses of natural area: 



Hunting, primarily for deer and bear, is probably a major use 

 of the area. Easily accessible to hunters, the site is bisected by 

 several well-maintained, graded dirt roads which are apparently 

 never gated. It is likely that the corporation which owns the 

 natural area and much of the adjacent lands leases the hunting 

 rights to a local gun club, a common practice in eastern North 

 Carolina. 



Timbering activities have up to the present time been limited 

 to low- intensity selective cutting. Old-growth stands along Wash- 

 ington Avenue and Sherrill Road in the southern portion of the 

 natural area have apparently not been timbered at all within the 

 past 50-75 years. In this area cutting was probably limited to 

 baldcypress and Atlantic white cedar, old stumps of which are 

 present. Other sections appear to have undergone some moderate 

 selective thinning, although there is not evidence of cutting 

 within the past ten years or so. 



Outside the natural area boundaries , timber cutting has been 

 both extensive and often intensive. Large tracts have been ditched, 

 cleared, burned and reseeded in loblolly pine tree farms. Much of 

 this activity appears to have taken place within the past ten years. 

 Other stands have been high-graded repeatedly and now contain stands 

 of young and medium-growth red maple, sweetgum, and loblolly pine. 

 Ditching and drainage of these adjacent forests is a continuing 

 practice; evidently as preparation for eventual conversion to 

 intensively managed pine plantations » 



It should also be noted that a series of parallel lateral ditches 

 about 700 feet apart have also been constructed in parts of the natural 

 area. These ditches were built about ten years ago but were allowed 

 to grow up and are now barely visible. Apparently at one time the 

 timber company planned to drain and clearcut the site. Why this has 

 not been done is not known. Possible reasons for the delay could be the 

 difficulty of managing peat soils or unfavorable economic conditions. 



19, Uses of surrounding land: 



a. Wildland " % c. high-intensity forestry 25 % 



b. Agricultural land 50 % d. developed % 



20, Preservation Status: 



Cat 



* % 



*Description of preservation status ! 



6 



100 



Private land, not protected by owner 









21. Regulatory protections in force: 

 none known 



54 



