TLC Protects a Cypress Swamp Forest

by Donna Wright
(from TLC News, March 1997)

On a December morning a loud drumming punctures the silence of the Buffalo Creek Cypress Swamp Forest. A great Pileated woodpecker (pictured below) is having breakfast on an old maple gnarled by an industrious family of beavers. The red crest of the woodpecker and the red berries of the winterberry holly bring color to the gray and brown hues of the cypress swamp.

In the new year, the swamp forest becomes a brilliant green as the cypress trees break buds and leaf out in the spring. Migrating songbirds rest and refuel as they journey northward to breeding grounds. Wood ducks prepare their nests for another season of ducklings.

As summer comes, the Great Blue Heron (pictured below) feeds on the small fish and frogs of the beaver pond, and the yellow flash of the Prothonatory Warbler catches the eye. Frogs and "toads chirp, peep and croak their tunes in the warm nights.

Owls softly swoosh around in the canopy while foxes prowl among the fallen trees. When the cooler shorter days of autumn arrive, the cypress trees echo the sublime yet colorful tints of the harvest sunsets, as the leaves turn from green to shades of copper.

If this sounds like your idea of a nature preserve, rejoice, for now it is. Thanks to the work of many people during the last several years, including the late David Howells, approximately 22 acres of the Buffalo Creek Cypress Swamp Forest are now protected by a conservation easement. This tract was chosen as one of the ten priority sites for the Land for Tomorrow campaign. Last year Pam Moore, TLC's program coordinator, led the effort to bring this project to completion, working with the landowner to prepare an easement that would forever protect this unique natural area.

Completion of this easement marks a milestone for TLC. It is the first protected parcel of the Buffalo Creek watershed, which is one of TLC's four priority stream corridors. The Inventory of Wake County Natural Areas identifies the Buffalo Creek Cypress Swamp Forest as significant land our region.

The stream corridor, covering more than seven miles and over 600 acres, is one of the most prolific locations in Wake County for bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), a tree typically limited to Coastal Plain areas. Its unusual cypress "knees," actually part of its root system, and buttressed trunk base provide stability in the saturated soil of the swamp. Certain characteristics of the cypress swamp forest contribute to its unique and interesting mix of flora and fauna. The water is relatively acidic and is high in nutrients and in mineral sediment. The sediment, deposited during flooding, adds nutrients to the rich biological community. a number of fish, amphibians and reptiles of coastal plain Affinities live along Buffalo Creek, including the Mud Snake (Farancia abacura) and the Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscirvorous).

TLC hopes the easement will encourage other landowners to Participate in protection efforts along the beautiful stream Corridor. Buffalo Creek is a natural treasure and asset for the Triangle Area, providing a unique landscape and habitat for a Great diversity of interesting plants and animals.

Back to Buffalo Creek Cypress Swamp Forest