![]() | Alligator RiverFact Sheet |
Fact Sheet of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in North Carolina. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge
photo: USFWS
photo: USFWS
Refuge Facts
■ Established: March 14, 1984.
■
Size: 153,000 acres lying on the
mainland portions of Dare and
Hyde Counties, North Carolina.
■
Location: 15 miles west of Manteo,
NC on US Highways 64 and 264.
■
Roughly 28 miles north to south
and 15 miles east to west.
■
Bordered on the west by the
Alligator River and the Intracoastal
Waterway; on the north by
Albemarle Sound; on the east by
Croatan and Pamlico Sounds; and
on the south by Long Shoal River
and corporate farmland.
■
photo: USFWS
photo: USFWS
■
Mike Bryant, Refuge Manager
Alligator River NWR
P. O. Box 1969
708 North Highway 64
Manteo, NC 27954
Phone: 252/473 1131
Fax: 252/473 1668
E-mail: alligatorriver@fws.gov
Lead Refuge in NC Coastal Plain
Refuges Complex, which includes
Alligator River, Pea Island, Pocosin
Lakes, Mackay Island, Currituck,
and Roanoke River National
Wildlife Refuges.
■
Financial Impact of Refuge
■ 29-person staff (includes Alligator
River and Pea Island, Fire
Program, and Red Wolf Recovery
Program).
■
62,000 visitors annually.
■
Current budget (FY 07) $3,521,000
(includes Alligator River and Pea
Island National Wildlife Refuges,
Fire Program, and Red Wolf
Recovery Program).
■
Attracts visitors worldwide for Red
Wolf Howling programs.
■
Serves as a “gateway” to other
eastern North Carolina refuges,
encouraging visitors to venture
inland into the counties with fewer
economic advantages.
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
was completed June 8, 2007.
Natural History
■ Established to preserve and protect
a unique wetland habitat type “the
pocosin” and its associated wildlife
species.
■
First ever attempt to re-establish
a species (the red wolf) that was
extinct in the wild.
■
Diversity of habitat types including
high and low pocosin, bogs, fresh
and brackish water marshes,
hardwood swamps, and Atlantic
white cedar swamps.
■
Plant species include pitcher
plants and sun dews, low bush
cranberries, bays, Atlantic white
cedar, pond pine, gums, red maple,
and a wide variety of herbaceous
and shrub species common to the
East Coast.
■
One of the last remaining
strongholds for black bear on the
Eastern seaboard.
Concentrations of ducks, geese, and
swans; wildlife diversity includes
wading birds, shorebirds, raptors,
black bears, American alligators,
white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits,
quail, river otters, red wolves,
red-cockaded woodpeckers, and
neotropical migrants.
Refuge Goals
■ Inventory, protect, and manage
to maintain healthy and viable
populations of threatened and
endangered species (e.g., red wolf
and red-cockaded woodpecker),
other priority wildlife (migratory
birds and black bear), and fish.
■
Inventory and manage to provide
diverse, high quality mid-Atlantic
Coastal Plain forested wetlands,
marshes, aquatic habitats, and areas
intensively managed for wildlife.
■
Provide safe, quality wildlifedependent recreation opportunities
for people to learn about and enjoy
the wildlife resources and habitats
of the refuge and of the National
Wildlife Refuge.
■
Limit the adverse impacts of
development to refuge resources
and allow natural processes to
dominate on candidate wilderness
areas.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Management Tools
■ Restoration of historic water levels
altered by past logging and farming
operations.
■
Water management for waterfowl,
shorebirds, wading birds, and other
wildlife.
■
Moist soil management for
waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading
birds.
■
Atlantic white cedar restoration.
■
Approximately 2,500 acres of
cooperative farming for black
bears, red wolves, and waterfowl.
■
Wildlife and habitat surveys.
■
Red wolf re-establishment.
■
Prescribed burning and wildfire
suppression.
■
Mechanical/chemical control of
invasive plants.
■
Deer, small game, and waterfowl
hunting.
■
Environmental education.
■
Wildlife interpretation.
■
Outreach.
■
Law enforcement.
■
Partnerships.
Public Use Opportunities
■ Universally-accessible foot trails
and fishing dock.
■
Auto tour route (11 miles).
■
Paddling trails (15 miles).
■
Wildlife observation and
photography.
■
Hunting and fishing.
■
Guided interpretive programs,
including Red Wolf Howlings, Bear
and Wolf talks and Canoe Tours
(fee program).
■
Environmental education.
Calendar of Events
April-December: Red Wolf Howlings.
April: Earth Day, National Wildlife
Week, scheduled canoe tours (fee
program).
May: International Migratory Bird
Day.
June-August: Summer Programs,
scheduled canoe tours (fee program).
September: dove season, bow season
for deer.
October: National Wildlife Refuge
Week; Howl-O-Ween Howlings;
primitive weapon and conventional
weapon hunting for deer, raccoon,
squirrel, waterfowl, and opossum.
November: Wings Over Water,
conventional hunting for quail, snipe,
and rabbit.
Questions and Answers
What can I do to help Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge?
You can help this refuge by
volunteering your time as a volunteer,
donating your money to the Coastal
Wildlife Refuge Society (the refuge
non-profit support group), and by
being a good steward for natural
resources. Contact the Society (http://
www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/cwrs.
html)! They’ll tell you all kinds of
ways you can help!
Alligator River Refuge uses
volunteers in a variety of program
areas. Local volunteers work
regularly staffing the Visitor
Center, maintaining interpretive
trails, putting up signs, conducting
interpretive tours, and assisting with
biological and maintainance work. We
also have programs for interns and
resident volunteers.
Why do you start fires on the refuge?
Fire is a natural process. Much of
the refuge is pocosin habitat, which
typically has a natural fire cycle
of three to seven years. Native
Americans were known to set fires to
aid in hunting game and to promote
better access to the woods and
marshes. Frequent fires had the
effect of pruning back the thickets
of shrubs and canes; consuming
accumulations of dead grasses,
pine litter, and woody debris; and
recycling nutrients into the soil. The
results were more open conditions
in the marshes and woodlands and
very diverse and productive wildlife
habitats.
FWS “starts fires on the refuge” to
reduce hazardous fuel conditions
and to mimic the natural fires of the
past. Many plant species, such as
pond pine, are fire dependent and
need fire to reseed and maintain a
healthy stand. The FWS fires are
accomplished under “prescribed”
conditions in which they can be
managed safely to burn out the
accumulation of forest litter and
shrubs.
Why is the Fish and Wildlife Service
introducing the red wolf, a predator,
into eastern North Carolina?
The endangered red wolf once ranged
throughout the Southeast, but now it
is threatened with extinction. By the
late 1970’s, the red wolf was extinct
in the wild, with only a few captive
wolves surviving in zoos. Eastern
North Carolina was once part of the
red wolf ’s historic habitat, and may
again be able to provide the conditions
necessary for its survival. At present,
there are 100-130 red wolves in the
wild in North Carolina.
Also, if mega-fauna, such as wolves,
are able to survive and reproduce
within an ecosystem, that provides
us with an excellent indication of
environmental quality. Predators, like
the red wolf, help maintain balance
in an ecosystem by controlling
populations of prey species and
removing unhealthy animals.
Where can I go to see a wolf or bear?
The chances of seeing a wolf are
slim. During some seasons, bear may
be observed with some regularity.
Weekly, during the summer, a guided
“Bear Necessities” program begins
at Creef Cut Trailhead on U.S. 64
in East Lake. Participants receive
an orientation to the refuge and its
management programs and have an
opportunity to drive along the refuge
wildlife drive to see black bears,
owls, and other wildlife. A ride down
Milltail Road near sunset will often
produce bear sightings.