Friends Calendar  

Tundra Swans on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

Photo provided by: Mike Dunn

■ Established: 1990 (Pungo Unit
established as Pungo NWR 1963).
■ Acres: 110,106.
■ Located in Hyde, Tyrrell, and
Washington Co. NC.
■ Location: the refuge is located six
miles south of Columbia, NC off
Highway 94 on the east and 18
miles south of Plymouth, NC on
Highway 45 on the west.
Natural History
■ Refuge lands were once the
southern extremity of the Great
Dismal Swamp.
■ Concentrations of ducks, geese,
tundra swans, raptors and
black bears.
■ Re-introduction site of red wolf.
■ Open water 6,291 acres; riverine
swamp 25,427 acres; pocosin
wetlands 50,319; agriculture 1,200;
grass fields 25,828; pine hardwood
forest 1,486; other 3,123.
■ Organic soils.

Refuge Objectives
■ Provide habitat for migratory
waterfowl and other birds.
■ To protect and enhance a unique
type of wetlands (pocosin).
■ To protect and enhance habitat for
those species which are classified
as endangered, threatened or of
special concern.
■ Provide opportunities for wildlife oriented
interpretation, outdoor
recreation and environmental
education.
Management Tools
■ Water management for waterfowl.
■ Water management for pocosin
restoration.

■ Cooperative farming.
■ Mechanical/chemical control of
noxious plants.
■ Reforestation of wetland
tree species.
■ Protection from wildfires.
■ Law enforcement.
■ Deer management with public
hunting.
■ Education/interpretation.
■ Partnerships.
Public Use Opportunities
■ Wildlife observation.
■ Observation tower.
■ Photography.
■ Hunting.
■ Fishing.
■ Visitor center and interpretive
boardwalk.

Questions & Answers
What is a Pocosin?
Pocosin is an Indian word meaning
“swamp on a hill.”
What is unique about pocosin?
The pocosin habitat is a fire tolerant
shrub/scrub complex with a pond pine
overstory growing on organic soils
with depths up to 12 feet.