We would like to take the occasion of the 56th anniversary of Earth Day to announce the opening of the Habitats of North Carolina Website. The mission of the NCBP is to compile information about biodiversity in all of its forms and make it as widely available to the North Carolina public as we can. Biodiversity is more than just long lists of species: it includes all of their myriad interactions, both with one another and with the non-living parts of their environment.
NCBP member David George will present an update on the survey currently being conducted at the Sandhills Game Lands.
The 2021-2 survey conducted by the NCBP of the New Hope Creek corridor in Durham County included the Hollow Rock Nature Park but focused primarily on the floodplain habitats along the creek itself. An upland area located east of Pickett Road was noted, however, for the maturity of its stand and its somewhat unusual composition, with a large number of Shortleaf Pines and Post Oaks intermixed with Northern Shagbark Hickories and Florida Maples. In 2024, Steve Hall and Carol Tingley conducted a more detailed habitat analysis of this site in a project funded by the Durham Open Space Program.
Over two decades ago, Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan conducted a multi-year survey of sites along the North Carolina coast as part of an effort to assess the impact of spraying to control the spread of the invasive Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar) in the state. One of the sites that they heavily sampled was Carolina Beach State Park. Located south of Wilmington in New Hanover County, the park lies on a narrow strip of land between the Cape Fear River estuary and the ocean.
This report identifies twenty-six sites in Durham County that provide habitat for a high diversity of animal species, support populations of rare animals, or serve as critical corridors for animal movements. Twenty-four of the sites - comprising over 25,000 acres - are publicly or institutionally owned and are managed as natural areas, forest lands, or wildlife habitat. These include one state park, three city parks, two dedicated State Nature Preserves, nine registered Natural Heritage Areas, and two extensive areas of state gamelands.
Abstract: This inventory of the natural areas, natural communities, and rare species of Robeson County was funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund. This inventory identifies the most significant natural areas in the county, describes their features, and documents the natural communities and rare species of plants and animals associated with them. Habitat conditions, natural processes, and threats are also described.
This inventory, funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, focused particularly on the rich alluvial habitats located in the upper part of the floodplain. In addition to updating previous North Carolina Natural Heritage Program inventories conducted in this area, this survey also covered species that have been poorly represented in past inventories, especially animals (mainly insects) associated with brownwater habitats. A landscape-focused component was also included.