NATURAL AREA INVENTORY 

 Basic Information Summary Sheet 



1. Natural Area Name: Moores Creek Wildlife Reservation 



2 . County : Pender 



3. Location: The natural area stretches from NC 53 along both sides 

 of Moores Creek, downstream to a point about a mile south of Moores 

 Creek National Military Park, and includes the bottomlands of Mill 

 Branch upstream to SR 1128 and an area of flatwoods along SR 1100. 

 Coordinates: 34°30'N, 78°08'W (FIGURE 19). 



4. Topographic Quadrangle (s) : Acme, NC 1954; Atkinson, NC 1955 (15'series) 



5. Size: 4,500 ac 



6. Elevation: 8 ft to 60 ft above mean sea level 



7. Access: Natural area can be reached by travelling west from US 421 

 on NC 210, following the signs to Moores Creek National Military Park, 

 or by following NC 53 west toward Atkinson. An excellent access 

 route is to follow SR 1125 between Yamacraw and Rooks. Limited access 

 is possible via the abandoned Atlantic Coast Line Railroad right-of-way 

 northwest of Currie. 



8. Names of Investigators: S. W. Leonard Rj,cky Davis 



P. 0. Box 3475 126 Duncansby Court 



Wilmington, NC 28406 Gary, NC 27511 



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

 10. Priority Rating: High 



11A. Prose Description of Site: Moores Creek Wildlife Reservation (and 



registered black bear sanctuary) is a consolidated tract of land that 

 formerly consisted of several parcels belonging to various members of 

 the Simpson family, and now held under a single ownership. The land 

 is situated on both sides of Moores Creek and is largely wooded, the 

 major vegetation type of the lowlands being seasonally flooded cypress 

 and mixed hardwoods, whereas the uplands are comprised of loblolly 

 pine woods, old fields, or cultivated lands. 



Brief community surveys were made where the major roads cross the 

 floodplain of Moores Creek; interior sections of the tract were not 

 inventoried. There is no reason to indicate that community composition 

 differs greatly from the southern extremity of the tract to the northern 

 limits. Because the tract connects with the extreme lower portion of 

 Moores Creek, and hence with the Black River corridor, the contiguity 

 of forest provides sanctuary and lengthy habitat for wide-ranging fauna. 



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