NATURAL AREA INVENTORY 

 Basic Information Summary Sheet 



1. Natural Area Name: Northeast Cape Fear River 



2. County: Pender (with parts of Island Creek in New Hanover) 



3. Location: From the New Hanover County line, east of US 421 

 near 34°20'N, 78°00'W upstream and including portions of Holly 

 Shelter Creek to a point about 2 miles downstream from the 



NC 53 bridge near 34°35'N, 77°50'W. This natural area is about 

 40 river miles long . (FIGURES 5, 6). 



4. Topographic Quadrangle (s) : Castle Hayne (1970), Rocky Point (1970), 

 Scotts Hill (1970) , Mooretown (1970) , Stag Park (1981) 



5. Size: 13,800 ac (est.) 



6. Elevation: 3 ft to 6 ft above mean sea level, occasionally including 

 higher bluffs adjacent to the river. 



7. Access: Boat access points are Cowpens Landing at the end of SR 1428 

 (private, open to the public for fee) , Clarks Landing on Long Creek 



at the end of SR 1408, Wildlife Resources Commission landing at US 117 

 bridge, Lanes Ferry landing at NC 210 bridge, Wildlife Resources 

 Commission landing near Holly Shelter Game Lands headquarters, and 

 Wildlife Resources Commission landing at White Stocking at the end of 

 SR 1512. 



8. Names of Investigators: S. W. Leonard Ricky Davis 



P. O. Box 3475 126 Duncansby Court 



Wilmington, NC 28406 Cary, NC 27511 



9. Date(s) of Investigation: May through September, 1981 



10. Priority Rating: High 



11A. Prose Description of Site: Black-water rivers in North Carolina are 

 rare, and among the most pristine is the Northeast Cape Fear. The 

 riverside development of industry which is present along the lower 

 reach of the river in New Hanover County is absent from Pender County. 

 The uppermost industry along the river is located near Castle Hayne 

 and consists of Ideal Cement and Diamond Shamrock — industries which 

 utilize the Castle Hayne limestone, which rarely crops out along the 

 river's bank. Residential development tends to be clustered at but 

 two places — Castle Hayne and Stag Park. 



The river itself winds through a mixed forest of predominantly 

 bald cypress and black gum, occasionally with high bluffs where loblolly 

 pine may be seen. The woods are draped with Spanish moss, and birds 



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