METHODOLOGY 



The natural areas inventory of Washington County was under- 

 taken to identify and describe the remaining sites within the 

 county which contain significant natural values. The study was 

 carried out from December 1981 to September 1982 and utilized 

 other data collected by various biologists familiar with the 

 county. 



Study sites were selected by various reconnaissance methods. 

 Most of the rural primary and secondary roads in the county were 

 travelled in addition to many private logging and agricultural 

 roads. A complete set of 1:24000 scale aerial orthophotoquad 

 maps were examined along with 1:2000 scale black and white aerial 

 photographs. Two low altitude aerial reconnaissance flights were 

 conducted using a Cessna 172 fixed wing aircraft. 



Conversations with numerous people familiar with the natural 

 lands of the county were also conducted. Foresters, soil scientists, 

 land surveyers, sportsmen, farmers, and others with first-hand ex- 

 perience were consulted. 



An attempt was made to accumulate all of the scientific liter- 

 ature pertinent to the county's natural resources. 



After all the sources of information were gathered and evaluated, 

 a number of potential natural area sites were identified for further 

 study. A total of about 15 field days was spent visiting and in- 

 ventorying each of the potential natural area sites. 



Natural areas were selected on the basic of several criteria. 

 A primary factor used to assess an area's significance was the 

 degree of past man-induced disturbances. Areas of old-growth 

 timber which had been disturbed relatively little by previous 

 logging cycles were given a high priority. The county was divided 

 up into seven major "soilscapes" or broad vegetation associations 

 (see preceding section on Soils and Vegetation) and an attempt was 

 made to identify and inventory an undisturbed example representative 

 of each major soilscape. Emphasis was not on the unique or the un- 

 usual. Rather, a representative example of all of the county's 

 major vegetation or habitat types in an undisturbed, old-growth 

 condition was sought for. 



Another important factor used in assessing a site ' s signifi- 

 cance was its "wilderness" aspect. Large roadless or near roadless 

 areas, while maybe not containing pristine habitats, were often con- 

 sidered significant because of their inaccessibility and remoteness. 

 Because areas with wilderness values are becoming increasingly rare 

 in the N. C. coastal plain, it was felt this criteria was important 

 in assessing a site's overall biological significance. 



