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bn+enror'y aJSignificant Natural Areas and N'rldlife HnGitnts <br />Qrmtge County, NC <br />Or°ange County Natural Areas Inventory <br />NEW HOPE CHURCH ROAD BASIC FOREST <br />Updated 2004 <br />Site Number: N08 Size: 18 acres <br />Site Significance: County <br />Attachment C 7 <br />~/ <br />USGS Quad: Hillsborough <br />SIGNIFICANT FEATURES: Several outcrops of basic rock and the surrounding terrain <br />afford habitat for basophilic plant species. A large population of a state rare plant, Bush's <br />sedge (Cared bushii), occurs in the powerline just south of New FIope Church Road. <br />NATURAL COMMUNITIES: Dry Oak-Hickory Forest <br />GENERAL DESCRIPTION: At the top of the northwest-facing slope along this section of <br />New Hope Church Road, several outcrops of gr-eenstone (a basic rock) were exposed in 1988. <br />Ranging in size up to tluee meters square, they allowed for sunny openings, which are <br />inhabited by several basophilic and open woodland herb species, including clematis <br />(Clematis ochroleuca) attd wild indigo (Baptisia tinctor•ia). The forest canopy growing on <br />the Enon soil of this gentle knob is dominated by white oak (Qrrercas alba) and northern red <br />oak (O. rubs), and numerous red cedar°s (.Irmiper us vir°girzi~na) reflect the dry and basin <br />conditions ofthis site. Red cedar also occurs in the subcanopy along with redbud (Cerci,r <br />canadensis), another basophilic species. As the slope descends towards the northwest and <br />follows the I-40 right-of-way, the forest canopy grades into a mature dry oalo--hickory forest, <br />though red cedar is still an important component of'the subcanopy. <br />The 2002 survey revealed that this forest is maturing and the canopy has closed, such that <br />sunny openings are now non-existent. No openings or rocky glades were found. This may <br />result in the loss of some herbs or shrubs that require high levels of sunlight. The only place <br />where such species were found was in the narrow powerline. <br />MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION: This site is located within Che Rural Buffer <br />zoning district. A northern portion of the site is protected by Orange County as part of the <br />historic Blackwood Farm (future park and preserve).. A small souther7~ section was <br />fragmented by the relocation of New Hope Church Road in the early 1990s and, therefore, <br />carved out of the site boundaries. The majority remains undeveloped and in private <br />ownership. <br />The forested slopes on the east side of the interstate, along with the area of outcrops should <br />be managed as a natural area. Any "green strip" along the interstate should incorporate not <br />only the forests adjacent to the road bttt also this lamb to the east. <br />OWNERSHIP: Orange County; private <br />REFERENCES: <br />Watkins, J. 1974. Pages 96-97 In A. E. Radford, ed. 1976. Vegetation, Habitats, Floras: <br />Natural Areas in the Southeastern United States --Field Data and Information. Department <br />of Biology, UNC Chapel Hill, NC. <br />233 <br />