lack River 



communities seem to 

 revere their rivet- 

 more than other 

 towns do their 

 streams. Perhaps 

 this awe and respect 

 will protect its 

 future as much as any 

 regulation ever could. 



Richard Cecelski, 

 marine educator 

 and canoe guide 



and the broadtail madtom, swim the 

 Black. The Atlantic pigtoe and the 

 yellow lampmussel, two rare freshwa- 

 ter mussels listed among the state's 

 threatened species, also thrive in the 

 river. The stream's mussel population 

 is diverse. 



"One of the most striking things 

 about the Black River system is the 

 abundance of freshwater mussels, and 

 that is a clear indication of good water 

 quality," says the state's "mussel man," 

 John Alderman of the N.C. Wildlife 

 Resources Commission. 



The mussels are food for fish and, 

 at various life stages, for the river's 

 ducks, muskrats, raccoons and otters. 

 These tiny two-shelled animals once 

 completely "tiled" the bottoms of riv- 

 ers. They can provide substrate for 

 small invertebrates such as caddisflies, 

 which dwell on the bottom as larvae 

 and are intolerant of polluted water. 



The Nature Conservancy has ac- 

 quired almost half of the nearly 1,900- 

 acre old-growth cypress swampland 

 straddling Pender and Bladen counties. 

 It is seeking conservation easements 



from private landowners to preserve 

 the remaining riverfront forest. 



Meanwhile, others are striving to 

 safeguard the water itself. The Black 

 and a portion of its major tributary, the 

 South River, as well as a section of Six 

 Runs Creek have been nominated as 

 "outstanding resource waters." The 

 designation has been recommended by 

 the state's Division of Environmental 

 Management, Wildlife Resources 

 Commission and Division of Parks and 

 Recreation and the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. If approved, the state 

 would implement a special manage- 

 ment plan that would prohibit new or 

 expanded wastewater discharges to the 

 designated stream segments and limit 

 development and associated 

 stormwater runoff near their banks. 



To qualify for this supplemental 

 protection, the area must have excel- 

 lent water quality based on water 

 chemistry and biological activity. The 

 upper portion of the Black, which has 

 exceptionally clean water, was re- 

 viewed and reclassified as "high qual- 

 ity waters" in 1990. The state believed 



Richard Cecelski, his dog Amber and Mary Ann Brittain. 



4 MARCH/APRIL 1994 



