Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

United States National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Photograph of Lake Drummond, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia
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Location	Camden, Gates, Pasquotank counties, North Carolina, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Virginia, United States
Coordinates	36°35′00″N 76°27′00″W / 36.58333°N 76.45000°W / 36.58333; -76.45000
Area	112,000 acres (450 km)
Established	1974
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1974 to help protect and preserve a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina in the United States. It is located in parts of the independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk in Virginia, and the counties of Camden, Gates, and Pasquotank in North Carolina.

Description

The Great Dismal Swamp is a southern swamp, the northernmost of many swamps along the Atlantic Ocean's coast, including the Everglades and the Big Cypress in Florida, the Okefenokee of Georgia, the Congress and Four Holes swamps of South Carolina, and some of the Carolina Bays.

Essential to the swamp ecosystem are its water resources, native vegetative communities, and varied wildlife species. The Great Dismal Swamp's ecological significance and its wealth of history and lore make it a unique wilderness. It is one of the last large wild areas remaining in the Eastern United States.

History

The Great Dismal Swamp is in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between the James River (Norfolk, Virginia) and the Albemarle Sound (Edenton, North Carolina). The aboriginal swamp was estimated to be over 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha); however, human encroachment has destroyed up to 90% of the original swampland.

Beginning in the 1660s, an established community of escaped slaves known as the Great Dismal Swamp maroons lived freely within the Great Dismal Swamp. Most maroons settled in mesic islands, the high and dry parts of the swamp. Maroons were not the only people who lived inside the swamp – some residents had bought their freedom, others were still slaves who lived semi-independently. In addition, some escaped slaves used the swamp as a stop on the Underground Railroad as they made their way further north. Nearby whites often left the maroons alone so long as they paid a quota in logs or shingles.

After centuries of logging and other human activities that devastated the swamp's ecosystems, in 1973, the Union Camp Corporation donated 49,100 acres (199 km) of land. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established by the U.S. Congress through The Dismal Swamp Act of 1974. The Refuge has grown to just over 112,000 acres (45,000 ha) in size.

In 1805, the Dismal Swamp Canal began serving as a commercial highway for timber coming out of the swamp. The canal continues to serve recreational boaters as part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Habitat and wildlife

The refuge consists of over 112,000 acres (450 km) of forested wetlands. Lake Drummond, a 3,100-acre (13 km) natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. Outside the boundaries of the National Refuge, the state of North Carolina has preserved and protected additional portions of the swamp.

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located not only between two states, but also between two eco-regions, allowing for a wide range of plant and animal species. Bald cypress, black gum, maple, Atlantic white cedar, and pine are the predominant tree species found on the refuge and support the wildlife within. Many mammals, including black bears, bobcats, otters, and weasels along with over 70 species of reptiles and amphibians call the swamp home. More than 200 bird species can be seen at the swamp throughout the year, while 96 of those are known to nest on the refuge. The peak influx of neotropical migratory songbirds, such as numerous species of warblers, is from late April to mid-May.

Recreation

The refuge is open daily during daylight hours. There is no entrance fee. The refuge headquarters, at the western edge of the refuge, is open on weekdays, except national holidays.

Visitor activities include birdwatching, photography, hiking, bicycling, boating and canoeing (a boat-launching ramp, offering access to Lake Drummond, is provided onto the Feeder Ditch, at the eastern edge of the refuge), fishing, and deer hunting on parts of the refuge during the designated season. Camping is permitted at a campsite maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers on the feeder ditch canal close to Lake Drummond.

Lake Drummond is the middle of activity in the swamp today, though, with many fishermen, sightseers, and boaters. Boat tours are given from the Dismal Swamp Canal, to Lake Drummond.

Hiking opportunities include the nearly .75-mile (1.21 km) (wheelchair-accessible) Dismal Town Boardwalk Trail, located on Washington Ditch Road, that winds through part of the swamp habitat; a number of the refuge's unpaved roads that are also open to bicycling; and the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail, an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) former section of Route 17 converted into a multi-use trail. The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail follows the eastern side of the swamp from a trailhead near Dominion Blvd south to within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the North Carolina border.

References

^ "Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge" (PDF). The Great Dismal Swamp and the Underground Railroad. Fish and Wildlife Service. September 2003. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
"Digging Up the Secrets of the Great Dismal Swamp". Popular Archaeology. May 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
^ "Freedom in the Swamp: Unearthing the Secret History of the Great Dismal Swamp". Physorg. May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
"Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge". About us. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
^ Bartel, Bill (January 29, 2012). "Escaped slaves may have lived in Great Dismal Swamp". The Virginian Pilot. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
^ Tidwell, John (August 2001). "The Ghosts Of The Great Dismal Swamp" (PDF). American Heritage Magazine. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
"Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge". Welcome!. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved January 30, 2012.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

Official site, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
GORP's guide to The Great Dismal Swamp
Defenders of Wildlife Organization – Great Dismal Swamp page Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
City of Chesapeake's Dismal Swamp Canal Trail

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP Fort Monroe NM George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS
National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP
National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VAMC Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Music Center Mabry Mill Peaks of Otter Rocky Knob Recreation Area) George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT
National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Glenn Martin Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts
Wilderness Areas	Barbours Creek James River Face Mountain Lake Priest Ramsey's Draft Rich Hole Rough Mountain Saint Mary's Three Ridges
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Claytor Lake Clinch River Culpeper Battlefields Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Machicomoco Mason Neck Mayo River Middle Peninsula Natural Bridge Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Powhatan Sailor's Creek Battlefield Seven Bends Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Sweet Run Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Widewater Wilderness Road York River
State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Charlotte Chesterfield Chilton Woods Conway Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run First Mountain Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Old Flat Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point South Quay Whitney Zoar
Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bald Knob Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Cave Hill The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crawford's Knob Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Lyndhurst Ponds Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlar Hills Glades Piney Grove Flatwoods Pinnacle Poor Mountain Redrock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Big Woods Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Doe Creek Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mattaponi Mattaponi Bluffs Merrimac Farm Mockhorn Island Oakley Forest Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Robert W. Duncan Saxis Short Hills Smith Mountain Cooperative Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Ware Creek Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks

Protected areas of North Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Great Smoky Mountains
National Historic Sites	Carl Sandburg Home Fort Raleigh
National Memorials	Wright Brothers
National Military Parks	Guilford Courthouse
National Battlefields	Moores Creek
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway Crabtree Falls Craggy Gardens Cumberland Knob Doughton Park E.B. Jeffress Park Julian Price Memorial Park Linville Falls Moses H. Cone Memorial Park Mount Pisgah Waterrock Knob
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
National Seashores	Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout
National Marine Sanctuary	Monitor
National Estuarine Research Reserve	Currituck Banks Rachel Carson Masonboro Island Zeke’s Island
National Forests	Cherokee Croatan Nantahala Pisgah Uwharrie
National Wildlife Refuges	Alligator River Cedar Island Currituck Great Dismal Swamp Mackay Island Mattamuskeet Mountain Bogs Pea Island Pee Dee Pocosin Lakes Roanoke River Swanquarter
Wilderness Areas	Birkhead Mountains Catfish Lake South Ellicott Rock Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Linville Gorge Middle Prong Pocosin Pond Pine Sheep Ridge Shining Rock Southern Nantahala Swanquarter
Wilderness Study Areas	Craggy Mountain Harper Creek Lost Cove Overflow Snowbird
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Chattooga River Horsepasture River Lumber River New River Wilson Creek

State

State Parks	Carolina Beach Carvers Creek Chimney Rock Cliffs of the Neuse Crowders Mountain Dismal Swamp Elk Knob Eno River Fort Macon Goose Creek Gorges Grandfather Mountain Hammocks Beach Hanging Rock Haw River Jockey's Ridge Jones Lake Lake James Lake Norman Lake Waccamaw Lumber River Mayo River Medoc Mountain Merchants Millpond Morrow Mountain Mount Mitchell New River Pettigrew Pilot Mountain Pisgah View Raven Rock Rendezvous Mountain Singletary Lake South Mountains Stone Mountain William B. Umstead
State Recreation Areas	Falls Lake Fort Fisher Jordan Lake Kerr Lake
State Natural Areas	Hemlock Bluffs Lea Island Masonboro Island Mount Jefferson Occoneechee Mountain Theodore Roosevelt Weymouth Woods
State Lakes	Bay Tree Lake Jones Lake Lake Phelps Salters Lake Singletary Lake Lake Waccamaw White Lake
State Trails	Dan River Deep River East Coast Greenway Equine Fonta Flora French Broad River Haw River Trail Hickory Nut Gorge Mountains-to-Sea Northern Peaks Overmountain Victory Roanoke River Saluda Grade Wilderness Gateway Yadkin River
State Rivers	Horsepasture River Linville River Lumber River New River
State Forests	Bladen Lakes DuPont Headwaters Rendezvous Mountain
Educational State Forests	Clemmons Holmes Jordan Lake Mountain Island Turnbull Creek Tuttle
State Historic Sites	Alamance Battleground Charles B. Aycock Birthplace Historic Bath Bennett Place Bentonville Battleground Brunswick Town / Fort Anderson C.S.S. Neuse and Governor Caswell Memorial Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial Duke Homestead Historic Edenton Fort Dobbs Fort Fisher Historic Halifax Horne Creek Living Historical Farm House in the Horseshoe North Carolina Transportation Museum President James K. Polk Historic Site Reed Gold Mine Somerset Place Stagville State Capitol Thomas Wolfe Memorial Town Creek Indian Mound Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace
State Coastal Reserves	Bald Head Woods Bird Island Buxton Woods Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Kitty Hawk Woods Permuda Island

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in North Carolina

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