4.5 River Basins
4.5.11 Lumber River Basin 4.5.11.1 River Basin Description
Te Lumber River Basin is located in the southeastern corner of North Carolina and the northeastern corner of South Carolina. Te headwaters of the Lumber River originate in the Sandhills ecoregion (a notable center of species endemism) in the northwest corner of the basin. Te remaining portion of the basin occurs in the Coastal Plain ecoregion. Te basin covers approximately 3,329 square miles, making it the seventh largest river basin, and has nearly 26 miles of Atlantic coast line. Tere are approximately 2,222 miles of freshwater streams, 9,865 acres of freshwater lakes, and 4,680 acres of estuarine or saline waterbod- ies. All but two rivers in the basin fow into the Great Pee Dee River in South Carolina: the Shallotte and Lockwoods Folly rivers drain directly to the Atlantic Ocean. A total of 115 miles have been designated as State Natural and Scenic Water and 81 miles have been des- ignated as National Wildlife and Scenic Water (NCEEP 2008c; NCGS n.d.; NWSRS n.d.) . Waterbodies in the Sandhills ecoregion are typifed by fowing sand-bottomed streams, with acidic water, and are primarily located in the northwestern one-third of the basin. Soils in the Sandhills are well drained and provide a reliable source of groundwater recharge to the streams that run through this part of the basin. Coastal Plain waterbodies are typically meandering and have low fow conditions that contribute to the basin being dominated by blackwater systems. Streams are often braided systems, have wide food- plains, and have natural communities that are often hardwood bottomlands or pocosin wetlands (NCDWQ 2010; NCDWR 2010) . Natural Carolina bays can be found throughout much of the basin, with smaller bays that are often ephemeral and ideal habitat for amphibians. Based on the 2011 National Land Cover Dataset, land use in the basin was estimated to be 29% forested, 2% grassland, 26% agricultural, 32% wetland, and 7.3% urban or developed (NLCD 2011). Tere are six game lands in the basin covering 109,134 acres, including a portion of the Green Swamp Game Lands. Rapid population growth in the upper end of the basin (Moore and Hoke counties) is associated with recreation activities (golf communities) and Department of Defense (DOD) facilities, while growth along the coast (Brunswick County) is associated with development for tourism. Tis growth contrasts with other areas in the basin where growth rates are much lower (NCDWR 2010) . Te Lumber River Basin encompasses all or portions of 10 counties and 51 municipalities. Sizeable municipalities in this basin include Aberdeen, Boiling Spring Lakes, Laurinburg, Lumberton, Pinehurst, Shallotte, and Southern Pines (Figure 4.21).
4.5.10.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions Segments of the Lumber River, Naked Creek, Drowning Creek, and Lake Waccamaw have supplemental classifcations as High-Quality Waters (HQW) or Outstanding Resource
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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