Survey

This inventory of the significant natural areas, natural communities, and rare species of Wake County was funded by Wake County and by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund. This report identifies the most significant natural areas in the county, describes their features, and documents all of the natural communities and rare species of plants and animals associated with them. Recommendations for management and protection of each of these sites is given. A total of 44 significant standard sites, and four larger “wildlife habitats” are described.

The initial inventory of the significant natural areas and wildlife habitats of Orange County was conducted from June 1987 to October 1988. The County contracted the Triangle Land Conservancy, a non-profit land trust, to produce the systematic inventory of the county’s remaining unique and exemplary natural ecosystems, rare species habitats, special wildlife habitats, and scenic areas. The 1988 survey was conducted by Dawson Sather and Stephen Hall, both experienced field biologists and ecologists.

This inventory of natural areas, biological communities, and rare species of Caswell 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 all natural communities and rare species of plants and animals associated with them. Protection and management comments on the sites are also provided. The inventory is intended to provide guidance for land use decisions by the county government, conservation and land management organizations, and interested citizens.

Abstract: This inventory of the significant natural areas, natural communities, and rare species of Scotland County was funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report identifies the most significant natural areas in the county, describes their features, and documents all of the natural communities and rare species of plants and animals associated with them. Recommendations for management and protection of each of these sites is given. A total of 31 significant standard sites, and two large managed areas, are described.

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.

Ecological impacts of the use of the microbial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) to control the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.)) and other forest pests have been documented for deciduous forest habitats in the northeastern United States  and mixed forest habitats in the Pacific Northwest.

Abstract: One hundred five species of lichenized and allied fungi are reported from recent and historical collections made in the Mitchell Mill State Natural Area in northeastern Wake County, North Carolina, USA. Mitchell Mill is unique among granitic flatrock communities in the southeastern United States by having riparian elements from the Little River, which flows directly over the flatrock, supporting semi-aquatic lichen communities along creek edges represented by species in Dermatocarpon, Verrucaria, and Lichinales.