Southwest Ridge Preserve/ Holly Shelter Game Land

green pitcher plant
© Hervey McIver

LOCATION:
Southern Coastal Plain Pender County

SIZE IN ACRES:
Southwest Ridge Preserve - 950 acres Holly Shelter Game Land - 50,120 acres

INVOLVEMENT IN ACRES: NA

TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS: Maple Hill SW Stag Park

Topographical maps are available by contacting:
NC Geographical Survey.
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612.
(919) 715-9718
www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/

ACTIVITIES & AMENITIES:
Hiking, Birding, Wildflowers

Holly Shelter Game Land is open to the public for hunting, birding, and nature study. Roads in the game land are only open during hunting season, so please heed the hunting schedule if you are a non-hunter! During other times of the year you can park outside the gates and walk into the game land.

OWNERSHIP AND ACCESS:
NC Wildlife Resources Commission                                                                                               Division of Wildlife Management
1722 Mail Service Center                                                                                                              Raleigh, NC 27699-1712.
(919) 733-7291
www.ncwildlife.org

SITE INFORMATION: According to the N.C. Natural Heritage Program, Pender County contains some of the most biologically significant land along the entire U.S. Atlantic Coast. And county ranks fourth among the state's 100 counties for its total number of rare plants and animal species. Much of this biological cornucopia is centered around the Camp Lejeune/Holly Shelter region - a vast expanse of longleaf pine savannas, Carolina bays, blackwater streams, and pocosin habitat that encompasses Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County, most of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Onslow County, and Nature Conservancy perserves near Maple Hill.

The southern boundary of the Southwest Ridge Preserve adjoins the northern section of 50,120-acre Holly Shelter Game Land, one of the largest and most significant areas of pine flatwoods, savannas, and pocosin. One of the Southeast's largest peat-filled pocosin basins comprises about 75% of the game land, while a 5,000-acre longleaf pine community complex is considered one of the region's most significant natural features.

The Nature Conservancy helped protect Southwest Ridge Savanna, an elongated sand ridge that once formed the southern rim of a large but now barely discernible Carolina bay. The ridge rises 15 feet above an adjacent pocosin habitat. Pine flatwoods form a sparse canopy on the ridge. Most of the canopy trees were destroyed in a catastrophic fire in 1986. The fire rejuvenated the ground cover, which is dominated by wiregrass. Seven rare plant species, including Venus flytrap and rough-leaf loosestrife, grow alongside more common plants such as creeping blueberry and backen fern.

Southwest Ridge Preserve is nested within an extensive wildlife corridor associated with Holly Shelter. The preserve provides breeding habitat for the Bachman's sparrow, a federally endangered species that apprears to be declining in the northern part of its range. The rare little metalmark butterfly has also been found here, and red-cockaded woodpeckers once inhabited the preserve.

CONSERVATION HIGHLIGHTS: The Nature Conservancy helped protect 950 acres at Southeast Ridge Preserve and later transferred the property to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

DIRECTIONS: Two access points into Holly Shelter offer hikers and birders a chance to enjoy some of the game land's diverse habitats. Take NC 210 east from I-40 and cross the Northeast Cape Fear River. Drive less than a mile past the river and turn left on Shaw Highway (SR 1520). Go 7.3 miles to the Wildlife Commission boat access area by the river. Follow the trail along the dike between the river and the swamp forest. From the intersection on NC 210 and US 17 in Hampstead, drive north on US 17 4.4 miles. Look for a Wildlife Commission sign on the left at the entrance to Lodge Rd. The road is gated and closed from March 1 through Aug. 31, but you can walk into the game land here and walk through the flatwoods.