0 CAROLINA SANDHILTS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Mct3ee, South. Carolina. s ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1.985 0 U . S . Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTE24 REVIEW AND APPROVALS CAROLINA SANDHILLS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 4 McBee, South Carolina ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1985 A ~~dZ0, 3-,5-~~ 'r /Ij, A . Refuge ManagerC'I,Date Refuge Supervisor Review Date z Regional Office Approval Date TABLE OF CONTENTS IN'7RODUCTION A. 1.I:cc ;i 9*, 1,'G1 r1':; 13 . C'T.l.Ml\`1'IC CONDIT.I ON :, I C. LAND ACQUISIT .10N 1 . Fee Title 2 2 . Easements Nothing to Report 3 . Other Nothing to Report D . PLANNING 1 . Master Plan Nothing to Report 2 . Management Plan 2 0 3 . Public Participation Nothing to Report 4 . Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resource Mandates 3 5 . Research and Investigations 3 6 . Other Nothing to Report .E . ADMINISTRATION 1 . Personnel 4 2 . Youth Programs 5 3 . Other Manpower Programs Nothing to Report 4 . Volunteer Program 7 5 . Funding 7 6 . Safety 8 7 . Technical Assistance 9 8 . Other Nothing to Report F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1 . General 9 2 . Wetlands 9 3 . Forests 1 0 4 . Croplands 12 5 . Grasslands Nothing to Report 6 . Other Habitats Nothing to Report 7 . Grazing Nothing to Report 8 . Haying Nothing to Report 9 . Fire Management 13 10 . Pest Control 14 11 . Water Rights Nothing to Report 12 . Wilderness and Special Areas 15 13 . WPA Easement Monitoring Nothing to Report Pa e G. WILDL.1 Fl: 1 . Wildlife Diversity 0 . .16 2 . Endangered and/or Threatened Species o 16 3 . Waterfowl 19 4 . Marsh and Water Birds 00 .21 5 . Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, and Allied gSpecies 21. 6 . Raptors 23 7 . Other Migratory Birds Q . .23 8 . Game Mammals • os23 9 . Marine Mammals Nothing to Report. 10 . Other Resident Wildlife • • w . .OO .I .q .OO .24 11 . Fisheries Resources 25 12 . 13 . Surplus Animal Disposal Nothing to Report 14 . Scientific Collections 25 15 . Animal Control 25 . 16 . Marking and Banding 25 17 . Disease Prevention and Control Nothing to Report H . PUBLIC USE 1 . General 0 26 2 . Outdoor Classrooms - Students 26 3 . Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers Nothing to Report 4 . Interpretive Foot Trails Nothing to Report 5 . Interpretive Tour Routes Nothing to Report 6 . Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations 26 7 . Other Interpretive Programs 27 8 . Hunting e . .e . .27 9 . Fishing Nothing to Report 10 . Trapping Nothing to Report 11 . Wildi;i..Fo Observation Nothing to Report • 12 . Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation 29 13 . Camping e . .29 14 . Picnicking 29 15 . Off-Road Vehicling Nothing to Report 16 . Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to Report 17 . Law Enforcement 29 18 . Cooperating Associations Nothing to Report 19 . Concessions Nothing to Report I . EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 1 . New Construction Nothing to Report 2 . Rehabilitation q 30 3 . Major Maintenance 34 4 . Equipment Utilization and Replacement 34 5 . Communications Systems 34 6 . Computer Systems Nothing to Report 7 . Energy Conservation 35 • 8 . Other o Nothing to Report Pte, J . OTHER ITEMS 1 . Cooperative Programs 35 2 . Other Econamic Uses Nothing to Report 3 . Items of Interest 36 4 . Credits 37 K . FEEDBACK 38 L . .INFORMATION PACKET - - - (inside back cover) IJfl'RODUCl'ION In prehistoric times an ocean covered what is now known as the Coastal Plain of South Carolina . Rivers flowed from the nearby mountains and deposited silt along 'the coastline . Gradually a broad band of sand dunes developed into what we now know as the Sandhills region . Humans probably have lived in the Sandhil.is for over 10,000 years . Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area was populated by scattered tribes of Indians, including the Wateree, Santee, Cheraw, Congaree, Waxhaw, and Pee Dee . Later those people joined togetherr to form the Catawba Nation . There is little information available con ering early European activity in the Sandhills . During the sixteenth century a number of explorers passed through the area . During the next 150 years traders and trappers made trips to the area for deer hides and furs on a regular basis . It was not until the mid-1700's that Europeans began to establish permanent residences in inland South Carolina . 0 During the late 1800's the-vast longleaf pine forests supported a naval stores industry . In addition to the lumber industry, turpentine was made from the pine sap extracted from the gold "fat lighter pines" . The last of the virgin pine forest was removed in the early 1900's . After the timber was removed the land was sold for farms . Deep, infertile, sandy soils and poor fanning practices caused most agricultural attempts to fail . When the Federal government purchased the land it was badly eroded and almost no wildlife were present . Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order Number 8067 dated March 17, 1939 during the Resettlement Administration under authority of the 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act and the Emergency Relief Appropriation of 1935 . The entire area acquired contains approximately 92,000 acres ; of that 45,591 .4 acres are ad- ministered as Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge . The remaining acreage is titled Carolina Sandhills Wildlife Management Area and is leased. to the State of South Carolina . Through a lease and cooperative agreement the South Carolina Commission of Forestry manages the Wildlife Management Area primarily for timber and wood products as well as public recreation such as hunting . Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Sandhills region in South Carolina that is the transition zone between the Coastal Plain and Piedmont Plateau . Uniquely, much of the flora and fauna found on the east side of the refuge is similar to those species found in the Coastal Plain, and much of the flora and fauna on the west side of the refuge is similar to those species found in the Piedmont Plateau . The refuge is characterized by gently rolling hills with elevations ranging from 200 to 500 feet above sea level . Deep, sandy soils predominate with scattered outcroppings of clay . Woodlands cover approximately 92 percent of the refuge . The major forest type is longleaf pine with a scattered understory of turkey oak . Where clay outcropping occurs, longleaf may be replaced by loblolly pine, and blackjack oak may be more common in the understory . There are numerous small creeks and tributaries that transect the refuge . Narrow bands of hardwood stands -i- and pocosin ecotones border the streams and produce sc=~ of the best wild- life habitat found on the refuge . rflIcfls are t1iirt-y nun-iijade ponds on W)v 0 refuge, created by placing dams along the streams, Approximately 1,100 acres of open fields scattered throughout the refuge add edge and diversity . 0 A. HIGHLIGHTS • The refuge office has been. relocated into previous Quarters # 203 (Sec . 7 .2) . The Lake Bee dam and spillway were repaired with special Emergency Dam Repair funds (Sec . I .2) . Waterfowl use of the refuge declined for the second consecutive year (Sec . G .3) . 'Me specially .funded cougar survey drew to a close without obtaining positive evidence of cougar presence on the refuge this year (Sec . G .2b) . 13 . CLIMATIC CONDITIONS This station records only precipitation data . All temperature data is derived from the local news media . Reported temperatures for the Sandhills region of the Carolinas (for 1985) tended to be either above or below normal throughout most of the year . 'This was particularly true in January when temperatures were reported to be in the high 80's at the beginning of the month but had dipped to - 6°F by January 20 . Pleasant weather had returned by the end of February when temperatures were reported to be in the upper 70's . The only other unpleasant weather occurred during the period from mid-June through the end of July . During this period life was made miserable by temperatures which were frequently reported to be approaching 100°F with relative humidities in the 90 percent plus range . The balance of the year was generally moderate in spite of minor temperature abnormalities . For the fourth consecutive year precipitation was above normal (See Tables 1 and 2) and was fairly evenly distributed throughout the period . However, we did undergo a drouthh period during the spring planting season (March through May) when only 3 .84 inches was recorded (70 percent of which fell during the- final month) . This severely effected nearly all refuge agricultural . ohexa- tions . Several corn fields had to be replanted ; all of the lespedeza plantings were lost entirely . September and December, which received .83 and .64 inches respectively, were dry months, but the balance of the year was wet . 7 Table 1 . Monthly Distribution of Precipitation In inches (1985) Month 1985 Normal Deviation January 5 .36 3 .36 + 2 .00 February 4 .64 3 .47 + 1 .17 March .52 4 .14 - 3 .62 April .62 3 .84 - 3 .22 May 2 .70 3 .36 - 0 .66 June 4 .29 4 .09 + 0 .20 July 9 .24 5 .62 + 3 .62 August 9 .09 5 .35 + 3 .74 September .83 4 .26 - 3 .43 October 4 .18 2 .68 + 1 .50 November 9 .07 2 .80 + 6 .27 December .64 3 .46 - 2 .82 Totals 51 .18 46 .43 + 4 .75 Page 2 Table 2 . Five Year Distribution of Rainfall in Inches (1985) 9 Year Recorded Deviation 1981 46 .36 - 0 .07 1982 46 .70 + 0.27 1983 58 .40 + 11 .97 1984 48 .32 + 1 .89 1985 51 .18 + 4 .75 Five Year Average = 50 .19 inches Five Year Average Deviation = + 3 .76 inches C . IM) ACQUIS:C'T1ON 1 . Fee Title For the past two or three years we have been reporting that an exchange of lands between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department was imminent .