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Calloway Forest/Sandhills Preserve

Why You Should Visit

Sandhills Preserve, North Carolina © Ken Taylor

Longleaf pine forests once stretched 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Harvested for lumber, turpentine, tar and pitch, this vast forest began to decline rapidly in the 19th century, and today a mere 3% of the original range remains. You can see what these ancient woodlands once looked like by visiting Calloway Forest, a longleaf pine forest in the Sandhills Preserve. Many wildlife species depend on the openness of longleaf pine forest to forage and raise young. Due to fire suppression efforts in the late 20th century, much of the open longleaf pine forest became overgrown with hardwoods such as scrub oaks and has hampered the growth of natural plants and trees, as well as, caused a decline in bobwhite quail and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Management efforts have reintroduced fire into this landscape through prescribed burn plans that reduce hardwoods and encouraged the growth of fire dependent species such as wiregrass and longleaf pine.

Location
Hoke County

Size
2500 acres

What to See: Plants
Longleaf pine forests, wiregrass, Michaux's sumac and rough-leaf loostrife.

What to See: Animals
Red-cockaded woodpeckers, migratory songbirds, fox squirrels, bobcat.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Preserving forests like Calloway will help "bridge the gap" between existing protected areas by providing corridors for wildlife and restoring critical tracts degraded by fire suppression.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Calloway Forest was protected because of a collaborative effort between the Conservancy and state and federal agencies. The NC Department of Transportation purchased the tract as mitigation for effects on red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, established an endowment for its stewardship, and then transferred it to the Conservancy. We are managing the forest in consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and it will eventually be included in the state's Game Lands program. The Nature Conservancy is working with our partners to restore this tract using a prescribed burning regime.

Read a postcard from the field about the Calloway Forest/Sandhills Preserve.