HOLLY SHELTER - PENDER'S OTHER TREASURE |
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Holly Shelter Wildlife Management Area, or Holly Shelter Gamelands, is the southern extension of wetlands in Pender County - Angola Bay is to the north. Lodge Road cuts across Holly Shelter from the SE entrance in Hampstead, to the Shaw Highway entrance just across from the Wildlife Office. It's 20 miles of dirt road, and passes through many distinct environments, from xeric sandy turkey oak and pine forests, Carolina Bays with their masses of dense vegetation and pond pines, open wiregrass savannas, hardwood stands, a last remaining stand of Atlantic White Cedar (juniper) in Trumpeter Swamp, and bogs throughout supporting pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, butterworts, bladderworts - all carnivorous - and numerous shrubs and woody vines typical of this pocosin. There are numerous nature guides and papers available that help satisfy the most casual interest as well as lead to further understanding of the significance of it all, and just what it is you're looking at in visits.
(NC Heritage Program) Angola Bay lies to the north of Highway 53, and can be thought of as a continuation of the same swamp. There are many natural areas in Pender County, and many of these are being purchased for preservation and protection by an umbrella of entities and agencies working to preserve the commons.
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