Logging roads, ditches and canals crisscross the drained pocosin habitat in Pocosin 

 Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. 



Pockets of Atlantic white 



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From the top of the old firetower 

 overlooking Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife 

 Refuge, the forests appear to stretch to the 

 horizon — with Lake Phelps a far-off line of 

 blue. There are no shopping centers or housing 

 developments in sight. The only sound is the 

 wind sweeping through the tower bars, ruffling 

 the feathers of perching vultures. 



It is easy to imagine a time when pocosins 

 dominated the land, and towering Atlantic 

 white cedars supported a thriving ecosystem 

 and growing coastal culture. 



Pocosin, a term coined by native 

 Algonquians, describes the bog ecosystems 

 of the southeast. Such ecosystems are 

 known for their unique soil type, vegetative 

 community and fire regime that once, under 

 the right conditions, bred large glades of 

 Atlantic white cedar, Chainaecyparis thyoides. 

 Historically, cedar-dominated pocosin soils 

 were waterlogged and rich in peat — partially 

 decayed plant material accumulated over time. 



A mainstay of life on the coast, Atlantic 

 white cedar "traditionally has been the wood 

 of choice preferred by boat builders and decoy 

 carvers," says Don Pendergraft, exhibits 

 designer with Core Sound Waterfowl Museum 

 on Harkers Island. 



Also known as juniper, the soft, fragrant 

 wood carves easily, is lightweight and 

 extremely resistant to rot and insect disease, 

 says Pendergraft. Perfect for woodwork, the 

 cedar was valued for its multiple uses, from 

 siding and shingling to channel markers. 



Atlantic white cedar became too popular, 

 however. "People liked it so much they just 

 overharvested it," explains Wendy Stanton, 

 refuge biologist with Pocosin Lakes National 



