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007 Little River Corridor On a smaller scale , the valley of the Little River closely resembles those of its sister streams , the Eno and Flat Rivers , both geographically and biologically . It differs from them , however , in the much smaller amount of protection for its natural areas . The function of this valley as a movement corridor for wildlife is , in fact, highly imperiled . Like the Flat and the Eno , the headwaters of the Little River lie well outside of Durham County in the gently rolling terrain of the Carolina Slate Belt. The two forks of the Little River arise in the , northwestern part of Orange County where they flow through a entirely rural countryside . Without any urban discharges , water quality in both forks has remained excellent , and as in the corresponding reaches of the Flat and Eno , the riffle and pool habitats of both ignificant fauna of freshwater mussels and other aquatic species that have forks support a highly s become rare elsewhere within the region . Although this aquatic habitat has been considered for designation as state Critical Habitat by the Wildlife Resources Commission and has been identified as State Significant by the Natural Heritage Program * no significant terrestrial natural areas have been identified -- let alone protected -- within either the Orange or Durham County sections of the upper Little River watershed . In absence of any core refuge , the terrestrial wildlife of this region are completely dependent on the precariously rural character of the landscape for their continued survival . Below the confluence of the North and South Forks , the Little River begins its plunge down to the Durham Triassic Basin . In place of the shallower pools and riffles upstream , the river in this section has carved down to the bedrock, leaving deep plunge holes , extensive boulder gardens , and steep , rocky promontories in its course . This section of the corridor contains the one main natural area surveyed in this watershed , the Little River Gorge . This privately owned site, which comprises the Saw Hole Bluffs of Rob Sutter ' s inventory as well as a larger area of slopes located above the Little River Reservoir , supports populations of both plants and animals that are more representative of the Blue Ridge than the Piedmont . It also includes the lower portion of the Little River Aquatic Habitat and at least some of its sigifi can t fauna of freshwater mussels . As is true for the corresponding escarpment gorges of the Flat and Eno Rivers , the uplands adjoining the Little River Gorge are all strongly dissected by the strong stream - cutting action of this region , and the rugged terrain of this section is still mostly undeveloped . In contrast to the Eno and Flat , however , whose gorge sections are surrounded by extensive areas of protected uplands , almost all of the land surrounding the Little River Gorge is privately owned . This includes the Little River Uplands , which Rob Sutter considered one of the most significant blocks of upland habitat remaining in Durham Countyls . At the extreme lower end of the Gorge , however, a small amount of protected habitat exists as part of the buffer lands around the Little River Reservoir , owned by the City of Durham as a water supply reservoir . Although this area includes some of the steep , north-facing bluffs that contain populations of some of the montane disjuncts , the amount of city-owned land within the gorge is too small to constitute a significant refuge area . Its value to wildlife , is Although important for wildlife, this tract was not covered in the current survey , due both to problems with access and to time constraints . Until developed , however, it should be regarded as a key refuge area within the Little River Corridor. 211