north carolina
s p r i n g 2011
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Alligator River
National Wildlife
Refuge Grows
Scott Lanier remembers the first time he visited
the Albemarle Sound. As a child, visiting the
beach for the Lincolnton native, meant going to
Myrtle Beach. “But, one year my uncle and my
dad took us to the Outer Banks,” he says. “We hit
Pea Island and I saw those blue goose signs (the
logo for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a
blue goose). My uncle explained that this was a
special place set aside for wildlife. Man alive, I
thought this is something else. I always wanted to
get back here.” Today, he is back in the area
serving as deputy manager of the Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge.
continued on page 4...
Bear at Alligator National Wildlife Refuge © Jeff Lewis
contents:
The Magazine of The North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
Director’s Note........................................................................................................2
Climate Change Pilot Project Moves Ahead....................................................3
NC Coastal Plain Forests Could be Dramatically Altered by Newly
Discovered Pest......................................................................................................5
Telling the Nature Story Her Way: Jeannine Reese, Nature Journalist.....6
Networking for Ecosystem Health.....................................................................8
Conservation Partners:John Crockett Loves Fire...........................................9
Controlled Burning 2011................................................................................... 10
Our Supporters: Meet Anne & Marshall McLaughlin............................... 11
Who is the Beneficiary of Your IRA?............................................................... 11
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1
director’snote
mission statement
The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to
preserve the plants, animals and natural
communities that represent the diversity of life on
Earth by protecting the lands and waters they
need to survive.
To date, the Conservancy and its members have
been responsible for the protection of more than
117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river
around the world. The Nature Conservancy
works in all 50 states and more than 30
countries. While some Conservancy acquired
areas are transferred to other conservation
groups, both public and private, the Conservancy
owns more than 1,400 preserves—the largest
private system of nature sanctuaries in the world.
The North Carolina Chapter, established in 1977, is
a state program of The Nature Conservancy. Afield
is published by the North Carolina Chapter.
editor: Debbie Crane
address: 4705 University Drive, Suite 290
Durham, NC 27707
phone: (919) 794-4373
website: nature.org/northcarolina
board of trustees:
Joel Adams, Asheville
John Barry, Charlotte
G. Alex Bernhardt, Lenoir
David S. Brody, Kinston
Malcolm M. Brown, Winston-Salem
D.R. Bryan, Chapel Hill
Thomas W. Bunn, Linville
Greer Cawood, Winston-Salem
Norman L. Christensen, Jr., Durham
George T. Everett, Raleigh
Jill Flynn, Charlotte
Thurman Grove, Raleigh
Henry Jordan, Winston-Salem
Michael Keever, Charlotte
Mark Konen, Greensboro
James R. Leutze, Wilmington
Todd W. Mansfield, Charlotte
Vince Nelson, Pinehurst
Charles D. Owen, III, Asheville
Liz Pungello, Chapel Hill
Kathy Reece, Raleigh
Kathryn A. Saterson, Durham
A. Pell Tanner, Rutherfordton
Edmund B. Welch, Alexandria, VA
W. Fletcher Wright, Charlotte
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Indigo bunting at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge © Jeff Lewis
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spring 2011
Of all the near 700,000 acres of property that
the North Carolina Chapter of The Nature
Conservancy has protected, my involvement
goes back the furthest with the Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge. That wonderful,
wild place has a special spot in my heart. As a
congressional staffer, I was involved in the
creation of the refuge in the early 1980s. Since
that time, the Conservancy has worked with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a
154,000-acre swath of protected land that
comprises the refuge.
The refuge is surrounded on three sides by
water, which was a big plus back in the day
when wildlife experts were looking for the
perfect site to reintroduce red wolves into the
wild. The water formed a natural barrier to
keep the wolves inside the refuge. Today, with
climate change and sea level rise, that water
threatens to inundate much of the refuge.
Two years ago, the Conservancy moved into a
new conservation arena. Up until then, our
work had been focused on traditional land
conservation – buying property and moving it
into some form of permanent protection. But,
we realized in the face of climate change that
much of that protected property was now
imperiled and we needed to take a new
approach. Thus, our Climate Change
Adaptation project was created at the refuge.
Today, that pilot is already showing promise. So
much promise, in fact, that we have agreed to
work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to do
similar work at other nearby refuges. This
newsletter gives you an update on our progress.
This newsletter also gives you the story of our
latest purchase at the refuge.We are taking a
strategic approach to our purchases. The idea
is to create protected lands that will allow the
wolves, bears and other animals a way to move
further inland to other wildlife refuges as some
of the existing refuge is lost to rising sea level.
We are changing our conservation model as
the world around us changes. The ability to
alter our course as science gives us more data is
why The Nature Conservancy is so successful.
You are a large part of that success. Thank you
for your continued support.
Climate Change Pilot Project Moves Ahead
Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agree to Expand Research to Other Nearby Refuges
Brian Boutin spent a lot of this past
winter with a big grin on his face.
Some of that was related to the
impending birth of his son, William,
who arrived in mid-March. But, for
the director of the Conservancy’s
Albemarle Climate Change
Adaptation Project, a large portion of
that joy was also related to his work.
Since joining the Conservancy two years ago,
Boutin has spent entirely too much time inside
– planning, writing grants and meeting – lots
of meetings. Seeing the project kick into high
gear, with activity across the pilot area on Point
Peter Road in the Alligator River National
Wildlife Refuge, is a welcome step.
“It is the coolest thing ever,” Boutin exclaimed
on a cold windy day at the refuge in early
March. “The pipes are in and it is beautiful.”
Boutin was referring to a water control
structure, which had just been installed in the
Point Peter Road canal. The structure will help
restore the area’s natural hydrology, preventing
salt water from flowing deep into the refuge.
Much of the refuge and surrounding area is
gridded by canals and ditches, some dating
from the Colonial era.
Bruce Creef, the Fish and Wildlife Refuge
employee who did much of the hydrology
ground work, was also pleased to get the
structure in place. He said the precision work
involved in leveling the structure was fairly
rare. “I just usually use rocker of the eye,” he
explained, using a local term for what many
would call eyeballing – just looking at the
structure to see if it was level. But, Creef, who
has spent his entire life in the area, recognizes
the importance of the current work.
Boutin calls Creef the refuge’s “resident
hydrologist.” Creef recently drew a flow map of
the refuge hydrology, proving academic
computer modeling wrong in some cases. “You
only get that by knowing the place, you don’t
get that kind of information by running a
computer model,” Boutin explains.
Winkie Silver is also a native of the area,
spending many years as a fisherman. “When I
couldn’t feed my family with just fishing, my
wife told me to get a job,” he says. He became a
contractor. In that capacity, he has helped the
Conservancy build offshore oyster reefs, using
his barge and heavy equipment to place bagged
oyster shells and marl.
Silver says he has seen the area change as sea
level rises. “When you bring your boat in and
tear up the bottom on tree stumps, you know
that was once solid land,” he explains.
“This is a battle you can’t afford to lose.”
Silver and Boutin talked as they visited
with UNC-Greensboro students who
were spending their spring break at the
refuge. Unlike their counterparts who
spent their spring break partying in sunny
areas further south, these students spent
several days at the refuge, bagging oyster
shells as the cold winds howled.
This was Juan Santos’ first visit to the
area. But, the senior said he,
too, has a personal
connection. “My older
brother and father are
fishermen in the Dominican
Republic,” he said. “Building
reefs here is good for fish
habitat and that helps all
fishermen.”
In fact, things are going so well with the pilot
project that the Conservancy and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service are eager to move the
project to the rest of the Alligator River
National Wildlife Refuge and to other
national wildlife refuges in the northeast
corner of North Carolina – Cedar Island,
Currituck, Mackay Island, Mattamuskeet, Pea
Island, Pocosin Lakes, Roanoke River and
Swan Quarter.
On another really cold
day – the day after a
rare coastal
snowstorm blanketed
the Outer Banks
– Boutin was joined at
the refuge office by
Conservancy
Executive Director
Katherine Skinner,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Project Leader
for North Carolina’s
Coastal Plain Refuges
Mike Bryant and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
Project Leader for the
Mattamuskeet Complex
Deborah Pierce. The
Conservancy and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
signed a formal
memorandum of
understanding that expands
the climate change
adaptation project to the
other refuges.
The hydrology restoration
and reef construction to
protect the shoreline are part
of a three-pronged approach
to adaptation at Point Peter
Road. The other is planting
flood-tolerant vegetation to
strengthen the shoreline as
“This will solidify the
top: UNC-G student Juan Santos
sea level rises. In March 2010 bags oyster shells; bottom: Bruce
relationship that has existed
Creef checks new water control
– also on a really cold day as
between the two
Boutin points out – workers structure Photos © Debbie Crane/TNC
organizations,” Boutin
planted 11,500 bald cypress,
explains. “This will allow us
2,000 black gum and 6,750 pond pines. The
to work across the whole area.”He, Bryant,
area is currently covered in pond pines, but the
Pierce and others are already talking about
project is testing whether the native black gum
where to take the project next. That’s a
and bald cypress will do better in the face of
challenge that Boutin is looking forward to as
rising sea level. “So far, so good,” says Boutin. A
he begins his third year at the helm of the
recent assessment of the area shows that the
climate change adaptation project.
trees are doing quite well.
spring 2011
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continued from page 1...
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Grows
Mama bear with triplets at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge © Garry Tucker,USFWS
In that capacity, he is working with the
Conservancy’s Fred Annand to grow the refuge.
Annand, too, has a long involvement with the
region. In the early 1980s, Annand helped to
negotiate the original 118,000 acre donation
from Prudential Insurance, which became the
core of the refuge.
Both men are pleased with the most recent
acquisition – 854 acres on the south end of the
refuge that will provide a valuable travel corridor
for black bear and the refuge’s most famous
resident – the red wolf, which was reintroduced
into the wild here in the late 1980s.
Lanier was first employed at the refuge in 1985
as part of North Carolina State University’s
cooperative education program. “I was here
when they brought in the first red wolves,” he
says. “I never saw one in the wild until 2006
and then only that one.”
Lanier has done better than Annand, who has
yet to see the elusive creatures despite their
strong comeback on the refuge. Both men have
seen plenty of black bear. The refuge is famous
for its black bear population, which is
considered to be one of the healthiest on the
east coast.In December, when Annand was
doing an environmental assessment on the new
tract, he got a strong reminder of just how
important the property is to Ursas americanus.“I
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spring 2011
saw three of them that day,” he says.
Driving through the refuge to the new tract, it
is clear why it is an important piece of property.
You go past acres and acres of land that have
been cut over, before coming to the new tract
which is covered in forest.“To have this large a
tract of forested wetlands, it just provides a lot
of habitat,” explains Lanier. “This was a key
tract and it wouldn’t have happened without
Fred.”
Lanier, Annand and other partners met a few
years ago to prioritize tracts for additions to
the refuge. This discussion was taking place in
light of a new reality on the Albemarle
Peninsula – climate change and the
accompanying sea level rise. “This tract was the
number one priority,” Annand explains. “It is
part of a network of land that will become
increasingly important as an escape route for
mammals like bears and wolves as they move
west from the water.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns and
manages nine refuges in Northeastern North
Carolina. Connecting the coastal refuges and
creating a protected corridor westward to the
furthest inland refuge – Roanoke River – is
vitally important. “If we can link these refuges
up, then wildlife is going to have a place to go,”
explains Lanier.
The tract is also part of the watershed for Swan
Creek, an outstanding resource water that
flows into Lost Lake, which according to Lanier
gets its name legitimately. “When you are in
there, it is like you are Lewis and Clark. There
are very few places like this on the east coast.”
Longtime Conservancy supporter Fred
Stanback recognized the importance of the
project, putting up half the purchase price,
giving Annand the opportunity to provide
Lanier with an early Christmas gift.
“When Fred called right before Christmas to
say that the Conservancy could buy the
property that was Christmas right there. That
was Santa Claus,” Lanier explains.
Lanier, who has a 16-year-old daughter and a
10-year-old son, says saving the property also
gives him a present he can pass on to them. “To
be able to know that you had a hand in
protecting something like this in perpetuity –
this property is always going to be here – that’s
special. I can say to my kids and their kids, ‘Pop
worked with TNC on that.’ “
For more information on the refuge go to
www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/
NC Coastal Plain Forests Could be Dramatically
Altered by Newly
Discovered Pest
Joni Mitchell once wrote “You don’t
know what you got ‘til it’s gone.”
People who are familiar with the
coastal plain forests of North Carolina
may soon find out how true that is
– thanks to laurel wilt, which just
reached the state and is likely to wipe
out a substantial part of the forest
midstory.
Laurel wilt was identified in Bladen County
this spring. It is caused by a fungus (Raffaelea
lauricola), which is spread by an ambrosia beetle
(Xyleborus glabratus) that is native to
Asia. It obliterates redbays (Persea
bobonia), which are widespread along
streams, springs and swamps in the
coastal plain.
Ryan Blaedow, a plant pathologist
with the N.C. Division of Forest
Resources (DFR), discovered the
disease in North Carolina. DFR had
been monitoring for laurel wilt since
it was identified in Horry County,
South Carolina in the fall of 2009.
He had set up a grid system that
monitored red bays that were on
points approximately 10 miles apart.
He and a coworker were driving
from one point to the other in
March when they noticed dying redbays along
the road. At first, he thought the dead trees
were the result of herbicide sprayed along a
road right-of-way. “Then, we noticed that
redbay was dying further back in the woods as
well. We stopped the car on the side of the road
and peeled back the bark on one of the trees
and we saw a vascular streak.” That streaking is
one of the signs of the wilt. Subsequent lab
tests confirmed their finding.
Top: Laurel wilt in Bladen County, NC © Margaret
Fields/TNC; Above: Palamedes swallowtail © Steve
Hall, NC Natural Heritage Program; Right: Ryan
Blaedow pointing to characteristic laurel wilt
streaking © Margaret Fields/TNC
is one of the most conspicuous species in the
coastal plain,” says Steve Hall, an Invertebrate
Zoologist with the North Carolina Natural
Heritage Program. “Much more conspicuous
than redbay, unless you are a botanist.”
Blaedow had seen what laurel wilt can do to a
forest from visiting Florida where the disease
has decimated redbays. “You don’t realize how
many redbay trees there are until they start to
die. The forest just turns brown.”
But, Palamedes swallowtail’s fate is
intertwined with the redbay. In its larval stage,
Palamedes feeds almost exclusively on
redbay.“If laurel wilt kills off all the Persea,
then it will very likely take the Palamedes
swallowtail with it,” Hall explains.
Although the redbay isn’t a particularly
charismatic tree, the Palamedes swallowtail
butterfly (Papilio palamedes) is a showy species. “It
The redbay is a forest workhorse, an important
source of wildlife food and a vital part of the
ecosystem. While Palamedes swallowtail could
become extinct because of the disease, other
plants and animals will be affected as well.
So far, nothing has stopped the spread of
laurel wilt. Since 2002, the disease has
marched through coastal plains forest from
Florida to South Carolina.The ambrosia
beetle likely entered the United States as a
stowaway in packing material.The beetle
continued on page 10...
spring 2011
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Telling the Nature Story Her Way:
Jeannine Reese, Nature Journalist
Conservancy Supporters Have Opportunity to Take Nature Journaling Class
Jeannine Reese has been on a number of Nature Conservancy field trips to places like the Black
River or Shaken Creek Preserve. But, instead of the usual digital photos, she has much more
personal mementos of those trips – her nature journals.
journaling attempt didn’t work out.
“Instead of keeping the journal day to day, I
manufactured it at the end of student
teaching,” she says. Needless to say, it didn’t
satisfy her instructor.
“I knew I had concentrated my work on the
teaching, which my supervising teacher/
mentor confirmed,” she explains. “A journal,
whether from the moment or the memory,
cannot be good or bad...it is the choice of
the journal keeper.”
Reese did teach public school for four years,
but most of her public school teaching since
has been as a volunteer. In the last dozen
years, Jeannine has concentrated on her
passion for teaching nature journaling and
creating art, with nature always being a
constant inspiration and genesis. She loves
teaching adults and children how to capture
the ordinary and extraordinary wonders of
nature in words and images.
Jeannine Reese nature journaling © Debbie Crane/TNC
“All of us start out as artists,” the Sanford
resident explains. “I’ve been an artist as
long as I can remember.” She is also a
writer, a recorder of what she sees in the
world around her. Reese has combined the
two skills into nature journaling.
When she attended UNC-Chapel Hill, she
considered majoring in Art. “But, my
mother begged me to get a teaching
certificate,” she says.
As part of her student teaching, she was
required to keep a journal, but this first
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She began nature journaling in 1993 at the
National Wildlife Summit in New
Hampshire’s White Mountains, where she
had the opportunity to go on a field trip
with Claire Walker Leslie.
“She told me to use a pen in the field, so you
aren’t so worried about getting everything
right, so you’re getting the essence of the
experience,” Reese explains. Leslie asked
Reese to send her one of her pages, which
Leslie included in her book, Keeping a Nature
Journal. Clare Walker Leslie’s most recent
book is The Nature Connection: An Outdoor
Workbook.
The two stay in touch and see each other
every year or so. Leslie teaches nature
journaling all over the world and is involved
in Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots program,
which is a global environmental and
humanitarian youth program. “Journaling can be done in the moment or
from memory,” Reese says.
A page from one of her journals details a
paddling trip with her husband, Mitch.
“Mitch fell out of the boat,” she laughs.
“There are his legs going over.”
The journals aren’t an exact history, because
they also allow her to reflect on things that
weren’t even there. “Our dog was scared to
ride, but I put him in the trip, even though
he wasn’t there,” she says pointing to
another page.
She honed her technique when she took a
botanical drawing class from noted artist
Ruth Brunstetter, whose work appears in
many books including “The Complete Trees
of North America.”
She calls that class a “happy accident.” Her
son was in school at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Taking the class at the North Carolina
Botanical Garden (NCBG) gave her a good
excuse to visit him. Brunstetter’s class
opened up whole new realm for Reese. She
has since completed the Botanical
Illustration Certificate program at NCBG,
Left: A page from one of Jeaninne Reese’s nature
journals © courtesy of Jeannine Reese; Above: Closeup
of Jeannine Reese at work © Debbie Crane/TNC
and her journaling has become more
sophisticated.
Nature has quirks and capturing that
quirkiness is a good part of nature
journaling. Walking in the woods near her
house on a late winter day, Reese explains.
Want to Learn More About
Nature Journaling? Jeannine Reese and the Conservancy’s Merrill Lynch will lead a hike
this summer at the Conservancy’s Big Yellow Mountain Preserve in
Avery County. Journaling materials will be provided and Reese will
show participants how they, too, can keep a nature journal. Reese
says the class is designed for all levels of artist, including those who
“haven’t yet discovered they are artists.” The hike is set for July 30.
To find out more, contact Carla Hudy at (919) 794-4378.
“Branches are pretty simple, until you look
at the diversity between different kinds of
trees,” she says. “I’m fascinated with lichen.
And, sweetgum balls look like baby birds
squawking, don’t they?”
She finds the perfect subject for her
drawing. “Look at this damaged leaf, that
will be perfect for color,” she says as she
takes her pen out. Later, she will use water
colors to apply those colors.
“Really anyone can do this,” she says.
“Everyone’s experience and journal will be
different.”
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Networking for Ecosystem Health
A decade ago, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service and other land
management partners created the U.S. Fire Learning Network, to improve
ecological fire restoration across the country. Today, there are eight regional
networks. One of those is focused on the Southern Blue Ridge. Within that
landscape, a group of partners is working on the central escarpment of the Blue
Ridge. They, like their counterparts in other regions, talk a lot about something
called “desired future conditions,” what the forest should like in the future if
properly managed for ecological health, particularly with the use of fire.
John Crockett and Josh Kelly are
pretty sure they know how the
desired future condition of the
central Blue Ridge Mountains should
look. But, the planning – making it
happen – that’s the hard part. That’s
why the two are involved in the Fire
Learning Network.
timing. In the past, the district focused on
smaller burns that they could complete in a
day, but that didn’t allow for “landscape
burns,” big burns that would make a real
difference in an ecosystem. His push has been
to make the burns larger, lasting over the
course of several days. Late this winter, he
accomplished that goal – a 1,950-acre burn
near Lake James. “Our goal is to top ourselves
with every burn, until we reach our
threshold,” he says. “We’re going
for 2,500 acres next.”
The Conservancy’s North Carolina
Fire Manager Margit Bucher, one of
the leaders of the Southern Blue
Ridge FLN, asked each landscape
within the FLN to create a map of
desired future conditions. The
Grandfather District is furthest
along in the process. Ray gives a large
part of that credit to Crockett’s
leadership within the district and
Kelly’s zeal for making it happen.
“John jumped on this opportunity,
coming to every meeting and
encouraging partners to be involved
the planning,” Ray says.
Crockett is the District Ranger for
the Grandfather Ranger District of
Pisgah National Forest. Kelly is an
Asheville-based staff biologist with
Wildlaw, a nonprofit environmental
law firm.You might not think of the
two organizations working together.
Even Crockett sometimes has a hard
time believing. “Having the
opportunity to sit down with Josh
and work together, I never envisioned
this kind of cooperation.”
Both Kelly and Crockett agree that
bringing back fire to the Blue Ridge
is essential to ecosystem health. “I
got involved with the FLN, because I
and a lot of my colleagues were
concerned about an increase in
prescribed fire (also known as
controlled burning) in national
forests,” says Kelly. “As a biologist, I
knew fire was important, but I
wasn’t sure it was being applied in
the right way.”
FLN Meeting: On the left side of the table: Ryan Jacobs of the NC Wildlife
Resources Commission,Christopher Williams of the Grandfather Ranger
District and Gary Kauffman, botanist for the National Forests in North
Carolina. On the right: Michael Cheek of the NC Division of Forest
Resources, Josh Kelly, John Crockett © David Ray/TNC
Kelly says he decided he could best make a
difference from within – working with various
land managers to ensure that fire was applied
correctly. “Rather than being distrustful or
nervous about the way things were going, I
chose to be involved.”
David Ray, director of the Conservancy’s
Asheville office, says the partnership is working.
“Josh took the initiative to call this group
together to focus on the Grandfather District,”
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spring 2011
he says. “John is focusing on the big picture – an
ecological prioritization for areas to be burned
that are big enough to make a difference.”
The Grandfather District is 193,000 acres. 70
percent of the area is fire adapted, meaning it
needs fire for ecosystem health.“We’ve got the
most fire adapted species in the Southern Blue
Ridge,” says Crockett. “So, how much are we
going to burn a year?”
Crockett says that pulling off a big burn in the
mountains is difficult given the terrain and
Ray, who moderates the meetings,
points to a picture he took as
evidence of just how well the
group, which also includes the
North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission and Division of
Forest Resources, works together.
“I love this picture. That’s really
how we work.”
For his part, Kelly wishes that there
was more of this kind of partnership
in public land management. “There
is a false dichotomy between hands
on preservation and hands on
management, when there is actually a whole
spectrum between those things. Unfortunately,
the conservation movement has often polarized
the debate.”
Ray, Kelly, Crockett and the other partners
– sitting around a table at the District
Headquarters in Nebo – are doing their part to
work toward a happy conservation medium.
The region’s oak forests, Table Mountain pine
and countless other fire-dependent species
need that kind of conservation cooperation.
Conservation Partners:John Crockett Loves Fire
“You either love fire or you hate it,” says John Crockett, District Ranger for the
Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest. “I fell in love.”
Crockett’s first position was in the Redbird
District of Daniel Boone National Forest in
Kentucky, which has a high wildfire occurrence.
Dealing with wildfire gave Crockett an
appreciation for how important fire is in many
ecosystems. Appreciating fire is one thing, but
land managers like Crockett take many classes
on fire to better understand its use. It was at
one of those classes where he met McRee
Anderson, who directs the Conservancy’s fire
work in Arkansas.
Public land managers often move from region
to region. One of the benefits of being The
Nature Conservancy is that the organization is
nationwide. So, the Conservancy is often the
only consistent conservation organization that
a public land manager may work with across his
or her entire career.
When Crockett became Deputy District Ranger
at St. Francis National Forest in Arkansas, he ran
into Anderson again. This time, Anderson was
talking about the Fire Learning Network.
Crockett signed on. “I told him about what we
were doing with the FLN,” says Anderson. “We
decided to work together. There wasn’t a lot of
burning going on in the area and the whole
forest type was shifting as a result.”
Crockett negotiated with his superiors to take on
the FLN and burning as a “pet project,” – fitting
it on top of his other duties. “It was basically me
and a technician,” says Crockett, which is why
being able to tap Anderson and The Nature
Conservancy for help was so important.
Anderson says Crockett is an ideal
conservation partner. “We sorely miss him,”
Anderson says. “He is an all around great guy
who knows his stuff. He loves partnership and
is big on doing the right thing with a
collaborative scientific approach.”
By the time Crockett left Arkansas for
North Carolina three years later, the district
had an active controlled burning program,
John Crockett © USFS
burning about 2000 acres a year on a
23,000-acre district.
Now, Crockett is bringing those same skills to
the North Carolina mountains and Anderson’s
North Carolina Conservancy counterpart,
Margit Bucher, is happy to have him here. “His
background and experience were shaped in
Arkansas where he clearly saw the benefit of
using fire when it is based on ecological need
and restoration and not so much focused on
suppression,” she says. “We were extremely
fortunate in the timing of when he came to
North Carolina.”
The Nature Conservancy and
other conservation partners
sponsored the second annual
Fire in the Lakes Festival
at Boiling Spring Lakes, North
Carolina. Several hundred
people attended the festival,
which teaches the public
about the benefits of controlled
burning. In this picture, North
Carolina Division of Forest
Resources Cape Fear Area
Ranger Bill Walker lights
demonstration burn.
© George Sagar
spring 2011
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9
Controlled Burning 2011
The Nature Conservancy had another successful controlled burn
season in the coastal plain and Sandhills – burning approximately 2,000
acres. Fire Crew Member Connor Coleman (pictured at left during a
Sandhills burn) captured the shot above during a burn in the Southeast
Coastal Plain. We burn for ecological reasons – restoring fire-adapted
ecosystems – but sometimes the burns themselves are quite beautiful.
Laurel wilt continued from page 5
introduces the fungus into the tree’s vascular
system. The fungus spreads rapidly
throughout the tree. In an effort to save itself,
the tree plugs its own vascular system.
Eventually, the tree dies from thirst.
Other plants in the laurel family, including
sassafras, avocado swamp bay, pondberry,
pondspice and spicebush, are also susceptible to
the fungus. Pondberry is on the federal
endangered species list. There are only two
remaining populations left in North Carolina,
10 |
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spring 2011
one of them at Pondberry Bay in Sampson
County, which was protected by the
Conservancy in 2001.
Under its own steam, the ambrosia beetle
would move through coastal plain forest at a
rate of about 20 miles annually. But, man has
helped the beetle find new hosts more rapidly.
Researchers suspect that moving infected
firewood has led to its rapid infestation along
the southeast coastal plain. That’s almost
certainly the case in North Carolina – the
Bladen County infestation is not contiguous to
any other infected areas.
Rob Trickel, who heads DFR’s Pest Control
Branch, says the state will focus its efforts on
education – convincing the public that moving
infected firewood from place to place is likely
to expedite the redbay die off in North
Carolina. “As far as control goes, there is no
silver bullet,” Trickle says. “If we can slow the
spread down, then if a silver bullet does appear
we will have resource left to work with.”
MORE INFORMATION ON LAUREL WILT IS
AVAILABLE AT: www.fs.fed.us/r8/
foresthealth/laurelwilt/index.shtml
Our Supporters: Meet Anne & Marshall McLaughlin
Some years back, Anne McLaughlin
went on a birding trip to southeast
Arizona. She visited a Nature
Conservancy preserve and was amazed
to find that despite the development
that was “going on all around it,” the
Conservancy preserve was an oasis of
wildness. Thus, began her longtime
relationship with the Conservancy.
Now, retired with
her husband
Marshall to a
mountaintop in
Madison County,
Anne continues
both birding and
her involvement
with the
Conservancy.
“When I turned
40, my birthday present to myself was a
lifetime membership to TNC,” she says. “It was
time to do something I really believed in. We
are all here so fleetingly. We are all so
interconnected and protection of the
environment is everyone’s responsibility.”
The Conservancy, because of its work across
the globe, can make those connections, which
are particularly important to a birder.The
McLaughlins recently went birding in Belize.
“We wanted to visit the areas where beautiful
birds spend their winters, before coming here.
A lot of people who are upset about local
ecological issues, don’t get the international
connections,” she says.
with government partners. “The Conservancy
is very open and willing to partner with other
organizations, which multiplies its
effectiveness,” he explains.
The McLaughlins have visited several
Conservancy preserves in North Carolina. They
spend many of their days enjoying nature in
their own backyard. “The wildflowers are
popping out,” Anne says. “I look for a little
friend and then another as they surface. Soon
we’ll be looking for synchronous fireflies. It is all
such a joy.”
The McLauglins will welcome their first
grandson to the world this spring. “We are
determined to do everything we can to leave
the world a better place for his and for future
generations,” Anne says. “If young people put
their laptops and cell phones down, we want
them to experience all that nature as we know
it has to offer.”
Who is the Beneficiary of Your IRA?
Joel Adams makes a living advising people on how to make smart financial decisions.
An independent financial advisor for Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. in Asheville and a trustee
for the North Carolina Chapter, Adams says one of the simplest and tax-wise ways to support The
Nature Conservancy is by making the organization the beneficiary of an IRA or retirement plan.
“Using retirement assets to make your donation and leaving other assets to your heirs often enables you
to give more to your heirs,” Adams said.
That is because IRAs and other retirement plan assets are taxed twice at death, first as part of your
taxable estate and then as income to the beneficiary. Non-profit organizations like The Nature
Conservancy don’t pay income tax on the distribution, nor is the gift subject to the estate tax.
“Retirement plans are really lousy ways to pass on your wealth,” said Adams, who himself has made
TNC the partial beneficiary of his retirement plan. “I plan on leaving other, less heavily taxed assets to my
family and friends.”
Any retirement plan administrator can provide members with a simple beneficiary-designation form that
takes only a few minutes to complete.
“We saw a lot of tropical birds in Belize as well
as birds that nest in the U.S. Now, we are
waiting to see them here in a few weeks,”
Marshall adds.
That’s why the McLaughlins chose to designate
half of their recent Conservancy gift to the
Tropical Andes for protection of bird habitat.
The other half also went to a global concern
– coral reef research and restoration.
Anne is a retired pediatric physical therapist,
who spent her professional life in Atlanta.
Marshall was a landscape architect with the
Georgia state park system, where he
experienced firsthand the Conservancy’s work
TNC members Joel and Marla Adams of Asheville pose in front of Adelie penguins on a trip to
Paulett Island in Antarctica © Courtesy Joel Adams
spring 2011
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11
On the Web
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