of the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker in a 150-year 

 old longleaf pine stand surrounded by thousands of acres of pocosin 

 is the primary significant feature of this natural area. Of secondary 

 impartance, larger because of the lesser status, are occurrences of 

 Venus' fly-traps, roughleaf loosestrife, and dwarf fothergilla. The 

 location of Southwest Ridge is unique — there being to our knowledge, 

 only one other large sand ridge within a major expanse of bay (located 

 in Angola Bay in northern Pender County) . 



The significance of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker colony is that 

 it is apparently in a stable condition, is thriving, and occupies 

 a timber stand with arrested subcanopy development. The number of 

 cavity trees per number of available longleaf pines is quite high. 

 Owing to the inaccessibility of the ridge and the absence of logging, 

 the colony site should continue to remain in satisfactory condition 

 and should be preserved. 



The plant community, with its absence of turkey oak, is unusual 

 and probably should be considered an anomalous variant of the longleaf 

 pine/turkey oak/wire grass community type. Isolation of the ridge may 

 be the limiting factor for turkey oak, since a few scattered plants of 

 that species were found on the northeast counterpart ridge. Moreover, 

 the dense ground cover of creeping blueberry and wire grass on Southwest 

 Ridge, together with infrequent fires, may account for the absence of 

 turkey oak and also the scarcity of longleaf pine seedlings. 



12. Significance Summary: (see TABLE 4 ) 



Legal Status, Use, and Management 



13. Ownership type by percent area: Private 32%, Public 68%, Unknown 0% 



14. Number of Owners: 3 



15. Name(s) of Owner (s) and/or Custodian (s) (with addresses, phone numbers, 

 and other pertinent information) : 



(1) University of North Carolina, Board of Trustees of the Endowment 

 Fund (Mrs. Grace Wagoner, University Property Office, 134 East Franklin 

 Street (165-A) , Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919/966-3296) 



(2) W. F. Sledge, P. 0. Box 523, Whiteville, NC 28742 (919/642-7029) 



(3) Jabe Six Properties, Ltd., P. 0. Box 1806, Wilmington, NC 28402 

 (James Z. Godwin/E. W. Godwin's Sons Lumber Co. 919/762-7747) 



16. Name(s) of Knowledgeable Person (s) (with addresses, phone numbers, and 

 other pertinent information) . 



(1) Charles "Vic" French, Wildlife Management Technician II, Route 1, 

 Box 222, Burgaw, NC 28425. Mr. French is Holly Shelter Game Lands 

 Manager, and he has a thorough knowledge of the property and surrounding 

 areas. 



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