Illustration by Anne Marshall Runyon 



including the protected Venus' s- 

 flytrap and the endangered rough- 

 leaf loosestrife. The federally endan- 

 gered red-cockaded woodpecker also 

 lives in savannas because it prefers 

 their old-growth pines with softened 

 centers for building nesting cavities. 



Pocosins are found only in the 

 southeastern United States, and 



they're more plentiful in North Caro- 

 lina than anywhere else. They occur 

 on flat, elevated areas between 

 streams in the Coastal Plain, often 

 next to savannas. Underlain by 

 spongy organic deposits called peat, 

 pocosins are able to soak up and 

 slowly release large amounts of water 

 into nearby rivers and sounds. Dense 

 thickets of evergreen shrubs, vines 



and a pine overstory provide food and 

 shelter for wildlife such as the black 

 bear, deer, bobcat and the pine bar- 

 rens tree frog, an endangered species. 



Seasonal wetlands fill with 

 winter rains and dry out in summer 

 and fall. And though they may appear 

 as ordinary as a backyard puddle, 

 these wetlands are critical habitat for 

 breeding amphibians. They are 

 needed by species such as the spotted 

 salamander to give birth and raise 

 young away from fish that would eat 

 their eggs and larvae. In the dry sea- 

 son, the salamanders live in upland 

 areas around seasonal ponds, but they 

 return to their birthplace year after 

 year to breed. Because seasonal wet- 

 lands are typically smaller than 1 

 acre, they are not well protected by 

 wetlands regulations. 



Mountain bogs often form at 

 the base of mountain slopes on flat 

 land. They are fed by seeps or springs 

 and covered with mounds of sphag- 

 num moss, which can absorb large 

 amounts of water and provide a base 

 for other plants to grow. The bogs are 

 made up of thick layers of peat and 

 black mud, and they are nature's only 

 habitat for the mountain sweet pitcher 

 plant, the endangered green pitcher 

 plant, the bog turtle and many other 

 rare species. As many as 40 percent 

 of the mountains' threatened and 

 endangered species live there. 



Beaman says the freshwater wet- 

 lands exhibit, opened April 29, is 

 typical of other exhibits that will be 

 offered once the museum moves to a 

 larger site in 1998. A teachers' guide 

 and video based on the exhibit will 

 soon be available for classroom use. 

 The N.C. State Museum of Natural 

 Sciences can be reached by writing 

 P.O. Box 29555, Raleigh, NC 27626- 

 0555 or calling 919/733-7450. It is 

 located on the plaza near the intersec- 

 tion of Salisbury and Jones streets in 

 downtown Raleigh. Hours are 9 a.m. 

 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday 

 and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. □ 



COASTWATCH 23 



