THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409290199
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE - An eerie stillness surrounds the shores of Milltail Creek as canoers and kayakers slip silently by.
There's a new bridge here, a wooden walking path across the wide waterway. And freshly painted markers guide paddlers through the coffee-colored cypress swamp.
Other than that, the atmosphere is empty and old.
Dare County's biggest community thrived along these sandy banks from the late 1870s through the early 1940s. More than 3,000 people lived in the Albemarle area's largest logging town. But Buffalo City is no more.
After the Dare Lumber Co. closed its mill in 1950, most of the workers left the isolated forest - their homes, hotel and church. A commercial farm operated on the land through the 1970s. Then, in 1984, Prudential Life Insurance Co. was searching for a tax write-off.
The national corporation donated 118,000 acres on the Dare County mainland to the federal government.
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was begun.
``This is one of the largest and wildest sections of land left on the Eastern Seaboard,'' said Bonnie Strawser, wildlife interpretative specialist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. ``We have purchased additional land and now manage 151,000 acres. We're hoping to even open a visitor center soon.''
Located off U.S. Route 64 between East Lake, Manns Harbor and Stumpy Point, the refuge stretches across the Hyde County line and into Alligator River. The U.S. Air Force owns the 46,000-acre Dare County Bombing Range in the center of the refuge. But the rest of the land is federally protected from development.
The entire refuge is open to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Jeep trails traverse much of the flat, sandy marshlands. But for the past decade, Alligator River preserve has been virtually inaccessible.
That's no longer true.
In March, 1993, the Fish & Wildlife Service opened 15 miles of canoe and kayak trails along Milltail Creek. Four separate paths wind through Sawyer Lake and connecting canals. The wide waterway is smooth, flat and has no rapids.
This summer, two half-mile hiking trails - one of them completely handicapped accessible - were laid through the thick forest. By January, interpretive plaques depicting the area's unusual flora and fauna will be nailed along the freshly plowed pathways. Parking area expansions also are planned.
Creef Cut Wildlife Trail, about 4 miles west of the U.S. 64/264 split, begins at a new wooden kiosk and 15-car parking lot - where the old, dirt Milltail Road ends. Fully paved, high and dry, this path is accessible to everyone. It opens at a public fishing dock and culminates in a 50-foot boardwalk over a freshwater marsh.
Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail is a little more rugged. It starts where Buffalo City Road dead-ends, off U.S. 64, about two miles south of East Lake. Rough, wooden pallets help hikers traverse swampy spots. But if rain has fallen during the past week, walkers are bound to get wet.
Sphagnum moss beds, beaver cuttings, wood duck boxes, rare sun dew flowers and warbler nesting areas are among the hidden attractions here. Visitors also may want to search for six-foot-wide stumps of juniper trees, look for crumbling buildings from the old logging town, or find remnants of a century-old railroad track which wound 100 miles through the forest. They also should watch out for snakes, bobcats and, of course, alligators in the swamp.
``We wanted more people to be able to enjoy the refuge, by foot or by boat,'' Strawser said. ``We had a lot of help in putting together this project.''
North Carolina Department of Transportation workers paved the Milltail Road parking lot. A $2,000 state Adopt-A-Trail grant helped finance markers. Manns Harbor Sand Corp. donated fill material. Barnhill Contractors helped move earth. Kitty Hawk Kayaks paid to print waterway guides.
Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society volunteer Dick Frycklund mapped all of the paddling trails.
And dozens of men from Duke University's Alpha Phi Omega fraternity and Manteo High School's football team donated time and muscle.
The Fish & Wildlife Service wants to open an Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge welcome station, auditorium and classroom space on the north end of Roanoke Island. Officials already have acquired 35 acres. Now, they need to raise about $4.6 million.
``We hope to have interpretative exhibits and a live red wolf display - complete with dens you can peer into through infra-red lights,'' Strawser said. ``We don't really have a timetable for the project yet. But we're trying to find a way for people to experience the refuge without having negative impacts on it.
``That way, if you don't want to canoe or kayak the creek - or don't have time to hike a trail - visitors to the welcome center can still experience the wildlife refuge.'' MEMO: MORE ON BUFFALO CITY/ Page 16
ABOUT THE REFUGE
Located on the Dare County mainland off U.S. Route 64, this
151,000-acre federal preserve encompasses some of the wildest land on
the East Coast. A cypress swamp stretches through miles of thick forest.
Sweet gum, maple and pine trees reach 30 feet high. And Milltail Creek -
wide and flat - winds along the sandy shores.
All of the refuge is accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Two
half-mile hiking trails and 15 miles of well-marked canoe and kayak
trails also are open. Hunting and fishing are OK during scheduled
seasons. Activities are free, year-round, and available during daylight
hours. Parking is available at the new Milltail Road paved lot or at the
end of Buffalo City Road.
Canoes and kayaks are not available on site, but may be rented on the
Outer Banks and brought in. Kitty Hawk Kayaks (919) 441-6800 and
Darwin's Cafe (919) 473-6113 are among local businesses which rent
paddling boats. Melvin Twiddy (919) 473-3270 and Kitty Hawk Kayaks also
offer guided tours.
To donate money for a proposed Alligator River National Wildlife
Refuge visitors' center on the north end of Roanoke Island - or for any
other refuge project - send a check to: The Coastal Wildlife Refuge
Society, P.O. Box 1808, Manteo, N.C. 27954.
For more information about the preserve, access or activities, call
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: (919) 473-1131.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Melvin Twiddy of Manteo guides a party of canoeists through
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
by CNB