Pee DeeBrochure |
Brochure of Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in North Carolina. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
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Pee Dee
National Wildlife Refuge
5770 Highway 52 North
Wadesboro, NC 28170
704/694 4424
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
1 800/344 WILD
http://www.fws.gov
photo: Donna Dewhurst
September 2019
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Pee Dee
National Wildlife
Refuge
Pee Dee is one of over
560 refuges in the
This blue goose,
designed by
“Ding” Darling,
has become a
symbol of the
Refuge System.
National Wildlife
Refuge System, which
is the world’s most
outstanding network
to wildlife. Refuges
provide habitat for
over 280 endangered
and threatened species
as well as hundreds of
other birds, mammals,
reptiles, amphibians,
fish, insects and plants.
photo: Gary Stolz
of lands dedicated
Canada goose
Welcome to your
National Wildlife Refuge
Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge is
located in both Anson and Richmond
Counties in south-central North
Carolina just six miles north of
Wadesboro. Situated in the Triassic
Basin of the lower piedmont, the
refuge’s 8,500 acres of rolling hills
covered with pines and hardwoods
gently slope to the broad flood plain
of the Pee Dee River. This area is
surrounded by development with
over six million people from Charlotte
to Raleigh. The refuge is an active
partner in efforts to maintain the
natural heritage of this area.
Part of a Network of
Lands — Born of
Necessity, Managed
with Care
Pee Dee is one of
over 560 refuges
in the National
Wildlife Refuge
System, which
is the world’s
most outstanding
network of lands
dedicated to
wildlife. Refuges
provide habitat for over 280
endangered and threatened species
as well as hundreds of other birds,
mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
insects and plants.
The National Wildlife Refuge System,
first started in 1903 by President
“Teddy” Roosevelt, is managed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
encompasses over 150 million acres
across the nation.
History
The Pee Dee refuge is close to the
once famous “Lockhart Gaddy’s Wild
Goose Refuge,” located in Ansonville,
North Carolina. Lockhart Gaddy, a
one-time avid goose hunter, turned
friend of the geese in the fall of 1934.
Eastern bluebird
Dogwood blooms
In the 1960’s numbers of both geese
and ducks began to decline in southcentral North Carolina. Fortunately,
lands adjacent to the Pee Dee River
and Brown Creek offered excellent
potential for waterfowl habitat
development. With local and State
support, the Pee Dee National
Wildlife Refuge was established in
October, 1963, to provide wintering
habitat for migratory waterfowl.
The original purpose for which the
refuge was established was “…for
use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for
any other management purpose for
migratory birds.” Through new laws
and executive orders, the mission
of the refuge continues to expand.
The National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997
Act states the “big six” public use
objectives. Through this executive
order the refuge offers the following
opportunities to develop appreciation
for fish and wildlife; hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
environmental education and
interpretation.
Wildlife Habitats
The variety of
habitats on the
refuge supports
a diversity
of wildlife
species. The
refuge contains
3,000 acres
of contiguous
bottomland
hardwood forest
along Brown
Creek. This area forms the core of
the largest bottomland hardwood
tract left in the Piedmont of North
Carolina. A 2,000 acre tract along
Brown Creek and Thoroughfare
Creek bottoms has been deemed a
Significant Natural Heritage Area
and is listed in the North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program.
The refuge also contains about 1,200
acres of upland pine forest and an
approximate 4,300 acre mosaic of
croplands, old fields, moist-soil units,
and mixed pine-hardwood forest that
intermingle with creeks, ponds, lakes
and the Pee Dee River. Reforestation
efforts in the old fields have provided
habitats essential for many species of
wildlife.
Waterfowl
photos: Gene Nieminen
Dave Menke
By the early 1950’s the flock had
grown to an estimated 10,000 Canada
geese and 1,000 wild ducks spending
the winter at the world’s most
unusual goose refuge. Visitors from
47 states and 11 foreign countries
signed the guest book in 1952. The
tradition continued each year from
1934, with the first birds arriving
each October flying with the full
moon, and departing in mid-March.
The Gaddy Goose Pond was closed
to the public in 1975 after the deaths
of both Mr. and Mrs. Gaddy. The
pond currently remains closed to the
public.
photo: Ginger Corbin
Using his four live decoys to attract
the wild geese to his one acre pond,
Mr. Gaddy was both surprised and
delighted to see his decoys attract
nine wild Canada geese. This was
the beginning of the “Gaddy’s Goose
Pond,” as it is known today.
Mallards
Wildlife on the Refuge
Peak populations of waterfowl in the
fall and winter can exceed 10,000
birds, with the majority being
mallards, ring-necked ducks and wood
ducks. Other ducks often seen are the
American wigeon,
Northern pintail,
gadwall, greenwinged teal and
black ducks.
Unfortunately,
the large flocks
of Southern
James Bay
Canada geese
have dwindled
significantly.
Providing for
a Diversity
of Plants and
Animals
Other Migratory
Birds
Ryan Hagerty
Resident Wildlife
Eastern box
turtle
Other than ducks and geese,
the refuge is a stopping point or
destination each year for snipe,
woodcock, hawks, owls, herons and
egrets. Due to the decline of suitable
habitat the refuge is considered a
very important area for neo-tropical
migratory songbirds, especially along
the Brown Creek bottomlands. The
colorful blue grosbeak, goldfinch
and indigo bunting are often seen
along the roadsides and field borders.
The refuge bird list contains 188
species found with varying regularity,
including 92 breeding/probable
breeding species.
The refuge is home to many mammal
species including the white-tailed
deer, red and
gray fox, bobcat,
beaver, gray
and fox squirrel,
and Eastern
cottontail rabbit.
Many species of
amphibians and
reptiles live on
the refuge and
include spotted
salamander,
American toad,
pickerel frog,
river cooter,
Eastern box turtle, green anole,
and copperhead. The refuge waters
are also full of fish such as catfish,
largemouth bass, and redear sunfish.
The Peregrine falcon is an occasional
visitor to the refuge. The Southern
bald eagle is commonly seen on the
refuge, and nesting along the Pee Dee
River. Eagles can be seen during the
winter months on the refuge near the
flooded waterfowl impoundments.
Dave Menke
However, several hundred of these
migrants still use the refuge, as well
as a growing flock of resident Canada
geese. Both color phases of snow
geese, scaup, Northern shovelers,
redheads, canvasbacks and tundra
swans are seen occasionally.
Indigo bunting
A variety of management programs
enhance wildlife habitat. Local
cooperative farmers assist with the
refuge croplands on a share basis,
leaving part of their crops in the
field for wildlife. Only crops that are
beneficial to wildlife, such as corn,
soybeans, and winter wheat are grown.
Wide field borders are left around
the edge of the refuge farm fields.
Refuge personnel plant these areas
in beneficial crops such as sunflowers,
buckwheat, millet and chufa. These
crops are both food and cover for a
variety of wildlife including quail,
dove, turkey, rabbits and a wide
variety of birds. Warm season grass
fields replicate open areas that
occurred historically through natural
disturbances. Few people realize
there were once open prairies located
in the Piedmont of North Carolina.
These natural grasses are more
beneficial to wildlife as opposed to
exotic grasses that are more often
planted. The “biological” farm
program, with its low chemical use,
no-till planting method, wide field
borders, and other wildlife-friendly
practices, serves as a model farm and
study site for farmers, educators, and
agricultural extension specialists.
Moist soil impoundments are
managed by lowering and raising
water levels, disking, mowing, or
burning every few years to maintain
plants in an early-successional stage.
These areas are shallowly flooded
starting in mid-October to achieve
the proper water level desirable for
migrating waterfowl, and are drained
over a period of weeks beginning
in late March to create the proper
germination conditions for favorable
moist soil plants, such as smartweed
and wild millet.
During the draining period, mudflats
are produced, which are used by
migrating shorebirds in early Spring.
Public Use Opportunities
Three hiking trails are available for
daily use. The Tall Pines Nature Trail
(3/4 mile) and Brown Creek Nature
Trail and boardwalk (1/4 mile) are
accessible from the Wildlife Drive.
The Gaddy Covered Bridge Nature
Trail includes two 1/4 mile segments
accessible from Gaddy Road.
Prescribed burn
Prescribed burning is conducted
in upland pine stands to mimic the
natural fires that historically burned
through these
areas every
two to four
years. These
fires suppress
hardwood trees,
such as sweet
gum, leaving an
open stand of
pines that are
preferred by
certain plants
and animals.
Artificial nesting boxes with predator
shields are placed in open areas for
bluebirds, and near water for wood
ducks. These boxes help duplicate
natural cavities that are scarce
because trees are often cut down
before they reach an age where
natural cavities develop. Refuge staff
and volunteers monitor these boxes
on a regular basis.
photo: USFWS
Wood ducks are trapped and
banded as a means of monitoring
the population of these year round
residents. Waterfowl surveys are
conducted every two weeks during
the winter months to monitor
waterfowl populations on the refuge.
The portion of the Pee Dee River
that runs through the refuge is part
of a larger canoe trail down the
Yadkin/Pee Dee River system. A
popular section to paddle runs from
Tillery Dam (north of the refuge)
downstream to the 109 bridge (just
south of the refuge), and can be
accessed from the refuge. Visitors
may put in seasonally at the end of
Griffin Road.
photo: KA King
photos: Ginger Corbin
Selected impoundments are drained,
disked, and shallowly flooded in midJuly to create mudflats again for the
early fall migration of shorebirds.
White tailed deer
Fishing is open
from March
15 to October
15 on several
ponds, Brown
Creek and the
Pee Dee River.
Sullivan Pond is
open for fishing
year round. A
primitive boat
ramp is provided
at Arrowhead Lake. All other fishing
areas are open to boats, but boats
must be loaded and unloaded by
hand. No gasoline motors are allowed.
Fishing is allowed seven days a week
from one hour before sunset until
one hour after sunset. Consult refuge
fishing regulations for more details.
A valid NC fishing license and a
free refuge permit are required for
fishing.
Hunting season generally runs from
early September to late February
for a variety of species. A free
refuge permit is required for all
hunts. A special quota hunt permit is
required for all deer gun hunts and
turkey hunts. Consult the refuge
hunting regulations for season dates,
application procedures and other
hunting information.
Volunteer Information
A growing number of volunteers
assist the refuge with a variety of
biological and maintenance projects,
including wildlife surveys, checking
nesting boxes, building trails and
conducting education programs.
In 1997, a group of people from all
walks of life and varying distances
from the refuge came together
and organized Friends of the Pee
Dee NWR. This non-profit group
is responsible for the building of
Gaddy’s Covered Bridge. The Friends
have partnered with the refuge to
sponsor annual events, including the
Christmas Bird Count, Kids’ Fishing
Day and a Night Prowl. For volunteer
opportunities and information on the
friends group, call the refuge office.
Birding
and general
wildlife
observation
are the fastest
growing
activities on
the refuge.
Enjoying the Refuge
The public is welcome to visit the
refuge any time of the year from
one hour before sunrise until one
hour after sunset. Some areas may
be closed by the refuge manager
for specific refuge activities. There
are several motels and numerous
restaurants within a 15 minute drive.
For more information, contact
Anson County Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 305
Wadesboro, NC 28170
or by phone at 704/694 4181
Layered clothing is recommended
during cooler months and using insect
repellant during the warmer months
is recommended. Ticks, chiggers and
mosquitoes are common from April
to September. Binoculars, spotting
scopes and field guides are also highly
recommended as you travel through the
refuge on foot or by vehicle.
Prohibited Activities
All government property including
natural, historic, and archaeological
features are protected by Federal Law.
Searching for and removal of these
objects is strictly prohibited. Please do
not pick flowers or vegetation.
Pets - Pets must be on a leash or under
control of owner at all times.
Littering - Littering is prohibited.
Please take your litter with you.
Vehicle Access - The use of motor
vehicles is permitted only on designated
roads. ATV’s are prohibited.
Weapons - Discharging weapons is
prohibited on the refuge, except as
authorized during scheduled hunts.
Camping and Open Fires - Camping
and open fires are prohibited on the
refuge. Camping facilities are located
near the refuge. Consult the refuge
office for details.
Alcohol - The use or possession of
alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
The refuge office is located on
Highway 52 North, six miles north of
Wadesboro, NC.
Refuge office hours are Monday
through Friday, 8 am until 4:30 pm.