NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



Maritime forests still take visitors by 

 surprise, says Kelmer, a tree surgeon and 

 volunteer at Buxton Woods. "They are not 

 what people expect to find at the beach." 



The 825-acre Buxton Woods Reserve 

 is a maritime evergreen forest dominated by 

 loblolly pine, live and laurel oak and red 

 cedar. Its fresh water "sedge" — a pond 

 some three miles long — is the source for 

 the largest aquifer on the state's barrier 

 islands. 



The ocean-to-sound hiking trail Kelmer 

 helped construct is a variation of his early 

 Hatteras Island vacation adventures. He 

 remembers Buxton Woods as a retreat from 

 sun, sand and relentless ocean breeze, and as 

 a place of great beauty and endless natural 

 discoveries. 



Relatively few studies have been 

 published about the rare and slowly 

 disappearing maritime forests, which are 

 unique to barrier island strands from Maine 

 to Florida. 



Though scientists still ponder their 

 origins, there is consensus that maritime 

 forest systems provide storage for ground- 

 water and refuge for wildlife, and help 

 stabilize the soil. Occupying the more stable 

 portions of the islands and coastal dune 

 ridges, their plant and animal life are well 

 adapted to survive constant exposure to salt 

 water spray, limited availability of fresh 

 water, soil erosion, dune migration, periodic 

 seawater inundation, wind damage and 

 frequent ocean storms. 



Along with Buxton Woods, North 

 Carolina's narrow barrier islands offer 

 uniquely diverse maritime forests, including 

 Currituck Banks, Kitty Hawk Woods, Nags 

 Head Woods, Shackleford Banks, Emerald 

 Isle, Zeke's Island and Bald Head Woods. 



Vegetation varies because of the 

 gradual climate transition from south to 

 north along the Outer Banks, explains John 

 Taggart, executive director of the North 

 Carolina Coastal Reserve Program. This 

 explains why cabbage palmettos trees are in 

 evidence at Bald Head Woods, the most 

 southern site. Currituck Banks, the most 



Lush maritime forests take beach visitors by 

 surprise. 



northern site, displays a greater proportion of 

 deciduous canopy trees. 



Each has special characteristics and 

 beauty, Taggart says. For example, Nags 

 Head Woods is noted for its 60-foot dunes 

 and 500-year old pine and hardwood trees; 

 Buxton, for its windswept live oaks; and 

 Kitty Hawk, for its old dune ridges, deep 

 swales and wetlands where cypress thrive. 

 Shackleford Banks, part of the Cape 

 Lookout National Seashore, is haunted by its 

 "ghost forests" — the result of migrating 

 sand dunes filling the forest floor 



Taggart points out that protecting the 

 critical biological and ecological functions of 

 North Carolina's maritime forests has 

 become a collaborative effort among 

 environmental organizations, local munici- 

 palities, state and federal agencies. For 

 example, the Coastal Reserve Program 

 partners with The Nature Conservancy and 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife at Currituck Banks, 

 with the National Park Service at Buxton 

 Woods, and with the town of Kitty Hawk at 

 Kitty Hawk Woods. 



He credits the North Carolina Chapter 

 of The Nature Conservancy for leading the 

 way for the acquisition of much of the 

 state's remaining maritime forests. 



The Nature Conservancy manages 

 Nags Head Woods, which Congress 



Barbara Blonder, northern sites manager, 

 checks on a water quality project. 



designated as a National Natural Landmark 

 in 1974. When the conservancy chapter was 

 established in 1979, protecting the forest 

 was one of its first projects, an effort 

 initiated by the local garden club. 



Working with the towns of Nags Head 

 and Kill Devil Hills and the Friends of Nags 

 Head Woods, The Nature Conservancy has 

 helped preserve 1,200 acres of this threat- 

 ened ecosystem over the years. 



Janet Owen, development director for 

 Nags Head Woods, attributes that success to 

 a community that understands the impor- 

 tance of biodiversity — from rare orchids 

 that appear seasonally on the forest floor to 

 water violets on its fresh water ponds. The 

 wealth of wildlife includes river otters and 

 migratory waterfowl. Importantly, the 

 freshwater aquifer is the community's 

 source of water. 



And, oh yes, Owen asks, how many 

 places can you find Spanish moss hanging 

 from a holly tree? 



Nags Head Woods boasts public 

 education programs that include summer 

 ecology camps for kids and adults. A well- 

 marked, five-mile trail is easy to navigate 

 and features a short-cut loop for the less 

 experienced hiker. From early spring 

 through late fall, volunteers lead interpretive 

 walks. 



28 EARLY SUMMER 2000 



