THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080035
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 167 lines
God made the heavens and the Earth in six days, the Bible says. But he must have been a little uncertain about what to do with coastal Virginia.
For hundreds of thousands of years, the area was washed by oceans and tidal floods. During periods of freezing, like the Ice Age, glaciers covered the land.
And through the ages, sand piled upon clay upon sand, layer after layer.
Much of what is left of that land of indecision, after asphalt paths, railroads and development, exists today only along U.S. Route 460 in Isle of Wight County, and that road is fast becoming an ecological highway.
First, the Zuni Pine Barrens were established - 318 acres of diversity, where Southern plant species, like the longleaf pine, meet their Northern cousins.
Then, a Portsmouth doctor gave The Nature Conservancy 76 acres of nearby pristine cypress forest.
Most recently, John Hancock Life Insurance Co. handed over to the State Department of Conservation's Natural Heritage Division 400 acres of woodlands fairly brimming with rare plants and, hopefully, animals, too.
This tract, adjacent to the Zuni Pine Barrens, has been dubbed the Antioch Pine Barrens.
``Oh, there is no telling what we'll find here,'' said Caren Caljouw, stewardship coordinator for the Natural Heritage Division.
On a recent trip from Richmond to view this gift, Caljouw and a group of naturalists who accompanied her were agape at the variety of species that already have popped from the forest floor.
The excitement was apparent in Caljouw's voice and in her eyes, as she moved from one rare species to another: galax - an earth-hugging vine with round, deep purple leaves with a greenish tint.
``The only other place it grows in Virginia is in the mountains,'' Caljouw said. ``The town of Galax was named for the plant.''
And there is pixie moss, found in longleaf pine areas as close as North Carolina. It also shows up in Virginia, in Isle of Wight. The golden puccoon is found in South Carolina, jumps to North Carolina and pops up again in Virginia.
``Most of these plants require white, sterile sands,'' Caljouw said. ``They require a special growing environment. This is where an ancient marine terrace formed 5 million years ago. Wave and wind action formed thick sand deposits.''
The theory is that pre-historic glaciers carried seeds of the unusual species to the area and planted them there, where they lay dormant until the time and conditions were right for them to grow.
One of the most exciting discoveries in the newest nature preserve to join the ecological highway are three varieties of oaks: turkey, sandpost and blue jack. None of them is impressive in appearance or of any value from a timber standpoint, but they are important to the balance of nature.
Turkey oaks, for example, are prolific producers of acorns that are tasty to wildlife, especially wild turkeys.
``When we first drove through this morning, we saw a beautiful flock of about 25 turkeys,'' Caljouw said. ``The leaf of the turkey oak is shaped like a turkey's foot.''
It's almost like it was planned that way.
And here, in the woodlands tucked between the highway and the Blackwater River, green/gray lichens, which look like stiff moss growing on decaying trees, are yet another indicator of the healthy environment of the preserve. Thriving only in areas with pure air, lichens aren't found in cities.
It's no longer unusual for an insurance company to invest in land, said Jeff Watts, a forester with Resource Management Service Inc., the company that guided the Antioch Pine Barrens into the state's hands.
That trend started several years ago, when interest rates began to drop and insurance companies, like other investors, recognized timberlands as ripe potential.
But John Hancock, which has about 2 million acres of forest under management nationwide, has been a leader in giving future generations lands that appear to be environmentally sensitive.
``It's unique because the company has been actively seeking any environmentally sensitive land and seeking to preserve and conserve those sites,'' Watts said. ``The idea is within their stewardship program. The company's investments have not been strictly from a timber aspect.''
John Hancock purchased the land, which probably hasn't been actively cut for timber in about a century, from Gray Lumber Co. about three years ago, Watts said.
Because the Antioch tract is adjacent to the Zuni Pine Barrens - which is already in the hands of the state and managed by Old Dominion University - the acquisition doubles the size of the preserve and expands opportunities for geologists and naturalists to study the area.
And it is important because it is the last stronghold in Virginia of the longleaf pine, a thoroughly Southern species that once stretched across an estimated 60 to 70 million acres in the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to Texas. Today, the longleaf ecosystem covers less than 4 million acres.
The pine tree, rich in a gummy substance that produces tar, pitch, turpentine and rosin, disappeared quickly because it was so important in the early ship-building industry, especially in Hampton Roads, said Dr. Gerald Levy, a professor of botany/plant ecology at ODU. Until recently, Levy was manager for the university of the Zuni Pine Barrens, handed over to the state several years ago by Union Camp Corp.
``The longleaf pine area in Zuni was one of the first places in the U.S. the tree was exploited for naval stores,'' Levy said. ``Up until this century, products from the tree were used on ships - rosin, turpentine. Those products came from tapping sap from the longleaf pine. Barrels and barrels of the material was shipped out of the area. The industry began in Virginia and worked its way south.''
Levy calls the Isle of Wight pine barrens a ``natural jewel,'' important because they are the last remaining longleaf tract in the state and one of just a handful left in the country.
Now, naturalists working with the state hope to encourage the growth and reproduction of the trees by ``burns'' to sweep the forest floor of less important foliage and allow the longleaf seeds to sprout and grow.
Naturalists know that forest fires are just another intrinsic part of the overall plan, Watts said.
``Historically, fire in these sites was common,'' he said. ``But the general public now views forest fires as damaging. For that reason, we've hesitated to do much burning.''
The longleaf pines with their thick bark and boughs that stretch toward the heavens are virtually indestructible when it comes to fire. The ``burns'' clear vegetation that has less hardy upperstructures. But the root systems of those trees and plants manage to survive the effects and come back - again, when the time is right.
Burns in the Zuni preserve were reinstated in 1987 after a couple of decades of not doing it simply due to public opinion, Caljouw said. The last burn in the area was around 1990.
``Fire suppression has been one of the biggest threats to the longleaf pines,'' she said.
A burn has been scheduled in the Zuni tract for sometime in May. There is little threat to surrounding woodlands since the Blackwater River and Rt. 460 act as fire barriers.
Meanwhile, state naturalists are hoping that the General Assembly will make changes in Virginia's burning laws before they make plans for burns in the Antioch Pine Barrens.
The best time for the burns, Watts said, is just as nature planned it - in the spring and summer, when thunder storms send lightning into the woods.
Meanwhile, the naturalists charged with overseeing this newest acquisition by the state are still exploring the area, documenting plant varieties and taking core samples of trees to determine exact ages.
``What a great tree!'' Caljouw said, hugging and patting a healthy loblolly pine determined to have recently celebrated its century anniversary. ``There will be so many surprises here.''
The Zuni Pine Barrens are currently open to the public, but ODU likes to be made aware of visitors. Eventually, perhaps within about two years, both tracts will be joined as one gigantic natural classroom, open for excursions and studies or simply for afternoon walks in the woods.
``There is a beautiful trail system already running through the property,'' Caljouw said. ``We'd like to enhance that. We have to evaluate what we have in the way of parking. We'll be conducting that assessment within the next year. This is a classic place for environmental education and interpretation.''
When the preserve does open to the public, Fred Hazelwood, district manager for the Division of State Parks, said he thinks the area will have a lesson for everyone.
``Each generation loses a little sense of appreciation for this kind of beauty unless reminded,'' he said. ``Virginia has a rich natural as well as cultural history; its natural history is why we settled here in the first place. This is diversity you don't have to be a scientist to appreciate.''
And maybe, he said, ``The key to the future, after all, is the past.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II, The Virginian-Pilot
The Zuni Pine Barrens' 318 acres are next to the 400 acres recently
donated by John Hancock Life Insurance Co. The tracts, part of a
stretch along U.S. Route 460, are an ecological marvel, says Caren
Caljouw, stewardship coordinator for the state's Natural Heritage
Division.
Map
Color photo
by CNB