Timber removed from central Gates County probably went from the old 

 landings on Bennett's Creek by the Albemarle Sound and the Dismal Swamp 

 Canal to Norfolk for export to New England, which had already decimated 

 most of its large timber. The resulting cut-over woodlands, whatever the 

 original forest types, formed the basis of the second major source of 

 loblolly pine stands. Whereas abandoned agricultural tracts produced 

 uniform stands of old-field pine, the ragged woodlands, completely 

 unmanaged, developed a second growth of mixed pine and hardwoods. As these 

 matured, they began to be logged in piecemeal fashion in the early 20th 

 century. Removal of the second growth pine and some of the hardwood 

 accellerated and became a major business for small, locally-owned logging 

 companies. Essentially all of this wave of pine regeneration was removed 

 by mid-century. Most of the present pine supply comes from unmanaged old- 

 field and cutover woodland stands dating from the depression era. 



Intensive forestry and conversion of woodlands to pine monoculture 

 only began to be practiced in this area about 30 years ago. This process 

 is intensifying, with most corporate and private lands now receiving site 

 preparation by heavy equipment, followed by pine seeding or planting after 

 logging. Nearly all of the extensive Union Camp holdings have already been 

 so treated. 



The county is therefore in a major period of transition in terms of 

 its forests. The original types are being permanently converted to 

 loblolly pine plantations. In addition, a great deal of land has been 

 cleared for agriculture after logging, in the past 20 years. Examination 

 of color infrared aerial photographs shows that, of the uplands, about 

 80% are now either cleared or in essentially pure pine stands. About 

 1 to 2% is urban or paved road. About 15% is in mixed pine-hardwood stands, 

 most of which will be logged and converted to pine within the next 20 

 years. Therefore, only about 1 to 2% of the original upland oak and 

 upland longleaf pine forest remains. 



The only sizable remnants occur around Merchants Mill Pond and in the 

 Sand Banks. Many farms have small tracts of oak forest, but most of these 

 will be consumed for firewood within the next few years or otherwise 

 converted to pine, agriculture or house lots. The outlook is bleak, then, 

 for the county to retain examples of its native upland forests. Merchants 

 Mill Pond will have a remnant of the white oak and red oak types. The only 

 hope for future generations to see the native longleaf pine and turkey 

 oak forests will be if the Story and Vaughan families see fit to preserve 

 some small areas of these unusual types in the Sand Banks. 



THREATS TO NATURAL AREAS, REMNANTS OF ORIGINAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 

 HABITAT IN GATES COUNTY 



1. LAND CONVERSION FROM WOODLAND AND WETLAND TO OTHER USES. As discussed 



in several places in the following report, the original forests of the 



county have been entirely removed except for a few small remnants. Large 



areas have been cleared for agriculture. It is predicted that millions of 



