lib. Prose Description of Site Significance: 



The qualities of extent, development and maturity which 

 make the stands attractive to various timber companies are 

 the same qualities which impart significance to the Alligator 

 River swamp forests as a natural area. Although subjected 

 to steady and continuing cutting in recent decades, signifi- 

 cant amounts of these swamp forests remain as excellent ex- 

 amples of a vegetation type which has been exploited since 

 the early colonial period. The mature swamp forests of 

 southern Dare County also offer an exceptional opportunity 

 for research into the ecological factors controlling the 

 vegetation over peats in the southeast. Together with 

 adjacent wetlands to the north, these swamp forests pro- 

 vide an uninterrupted corridor along the Alligator River 

 from Roper Island to the Dare County line and on into Dare 

 County itself. 



The southern swamp forest fauna is well-represented 

 in the natural area . Black bear occur throughout , and the 

 available habitat is extensive enough to maintain a popu- 

 lation. The avifaunal component particularly is intact 

 and notably diverse, in keeping with the structural divers- 

 ity of the swamp forest itself. Approximately 40 breeding 

 bird species are known to date from the swamp forests proper, 

 including 10 wood warblers. 



Two less extensive vegetation types within the described 

 area add to the overall diversity and have significant features 

 in their own right. The monospecific Atlantic white cedar 

 stands, actually part of the general swamp forest system, 

 support many of the same breeding birds discussed above. 

 The pond pine stands in places attain canopy tree sizes 

 of note. 



Also, of geomorphological interest, is the 400-acre 

 Swan Creek Lake , a blackwater lake which supports a small 

 American Alligator population and is an undisturbed example 

 of a natural lake type limited to deep peat areas of Hyde 

 and Dare Counties. 



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