N C. DOCUMENTS 



CLEARINGHOUSE 



contents 



Features 



N C. STATE L©RARY 

 RALEIGH 



Waking to the River 



The oldest bald cypress on North Carolina's Black River 

 was pushing up dirt nearly 2,000 years before Coastwatch 

 staff writer Carla Burgess came screaming into the world in 

 1964. But she shares a common bond with the oldest stand of 

 trees in eastern North America — roots grounded firmly in 

 this 66-mile blackwater tributary of the Cape Fear River. Pad- 

 dling through the swamp and recalling stories of home, Bur- 

 gess takes readers on a personal journey down the Black, 

 which is the target of several special protection efforts 2 



The Legend off Black Beauty 



The serenity of today's Black River masks a history rich in 

 activity. Coastwatch staff writer Kathy Hart steps back in time 

 to the days when the Black River served southeastern North 

 Carolina as a major commercial thoroughfare. River rafts 

 heavy with tar, turpentine and timber once rode the meander- 

 ing channel. And whistles shrilled as steamboats paddled from 

 river landing to landing delivering goods and people to their 

 destinations. Join Hart as she looks back at the Black 10 



The Black River and Beyond: 

 Old Forests May Be Last Refuge 

 for Rare Bat 



For more than half of the 20th century, the eastern big-eared 

 bat remained cloaked in the forests of the North Carolina 

 coastal plain. Today, it is a federal species of concern and one 

 of the nation's least understood bats. Researcher Mary Kay 

 Clark hopes to shed some light on the life of this reclusive bat 

 with her work in North Carolina and Virginia forests where 

 old trees meet water. She tells Coastwatch staff writer Jeannie 

 Faris that small colonies have been discovered by looking in 

 the right places. But she wants to understand the connection 

 between this rare bat and the unique and perishing habitat 

 where it makes its home 16 



Field Notes: 



Conflict or Consensus Between Anglers and Watermen? . . 23 



Departments 



Coastal Commentary: 



Golf Courses: Do They Handicap Water Quality? 



22 



Aft Deck 



24 



COASTWATCH I 



