
DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710110704

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CAMDEN                            LENGTH:   77 lines

STATE TO BUY 530 ACRES, EXPAND BEAR REFUGE HUNTING OF SMALL GAME AND AREAS FOR RECREATION WILL BE ALLOWED.

Black bears will have another place to find a meal, compliments of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Using a $125,000 grant from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, the commission will buy 530 acres of marsh and woodland along the North River, adding valuable habitat to the North River Game Land.

The North River Game Land is 11,000 acres of prime bear habitat that sits just across the river in Currituck County.

``Without sanctuaries, a lot of these counties would not have bears,'' said David Rowe, biologist for the Wildlife Resources Commission District I. ``Number one, it's land that will always be kept in a natural state and not developed or logged.''

The swamps in the area are full of black gum trees, which produce a small purple berry that black bears love to eat, Rowe said.

``We've got some of the best black bear habitat on the southeastern coast of the United States,'' Rowe said.

The new Camden game land, known as the Great Creek Tract, is 160 acres of marsh and 370 acres of woodlands just across from the intersection of the North River and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Camden land records show the property is a large peninsula owned by the Canal Wood Corp. The Great Creek runs along the south side of the peninsula.

Like its sister game lands across the river, the Great Creek Tract will serve as a bear sanctuary, but public hunting of smaller game and other recreational activities such as fishing, canoeing and bird watching will be allowed. Duck blinds already dot the river along the shore there.

The grant is part of $4.4 million awarded to three state agencies by the Natural Heritage Trust. The General Assembly established the trust in 1987 and funds it through the sale of personalized license plates and the deed stamp tax. In July 1996, funding from the deed stamp tax increased to 25 percent of the state's share. The fees generated $5.8 million in 1996.

``That has helped our land acquisition, and we've been much more aggressive,'' said Wib Owen, manager of the land management section of the Wildlife Resources Commission.

The Wildlife Resources Commission works closely with the Natural Heritage Trust for buying land and with the Nature Conservancy for finding the best habitat. The Nature Conservancy helped the agency acquire the Camden property, Owen said.

``It happened pretty quickly,'' he said.

The Wildlife Resources Commission and other agencies often buy tracts one parcel at a time as they get money, said Susan Giles of the Natural Heritage Trust. There are still hundreds of acres of woodland surrounding the Great Creek Tract. Owen would not comment on whether the agency plans to buy more land there.

About 60 acres of the tract were logged 12 years ago, according to the application by the Wildlife Resources Commission to the Natural Heritage Trust. The logged area has filled in with a young stand of Atlantic white cedar, commonly known as juniper. Juniper was once plentiful here, and local boat builders used it extensively, said Bob Pippen of J.W. Jones Lumber Co. in Pasquotank County.

The demand for juniper for boats and shingles in the 1800s helped lead to the depletion of the natural stands, he said.

The Wildlife Resources Commission owns 300,000 acres in the state. This is the agency's first property in Camden. The Great Creek Tract and surrounding area may be the largest unprotected natural area remaining in northeastern North Carolina, according to a statement from the Natural Heritage Trust.

Buying the Great Creek Tract fits with the Wildlife Resources Commission's goal of acquiring as much adjacent habitat as possible.

``You look to have large corridors for wildlife,'' Owen said.

One bear can range thousands of acres, Rowe said. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

The purchase will add to the North River Game Land, 11,000 acres of

prime bear habitat that sits just across the river in Currituck

County.

Color Map

Area Shown: North River Game Land