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Old-growth pine forests of the southeast United States are home to hundreds of species specialized to this unique ecosystem, including the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW). The RCW (Picoides borealis) hunts insects on tree trunks and creates nests within living pines. These nests are occupied for several generations and are used by many other wild creatures, such as chickadees, flying squirrels, and raccoons.

The RCW, however, has had to compete for these same century-old trees with timber and paper-pulp industries, which have clearcut the forests and decimated the species. As a result, the RCW was added to the endangered species list in 1970.¹⁰ Protection of the scarce remaining habitat is essential to the existence of this and many other species.

The Palmetto Pear Tree Preserve was established in a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and The Conservation Fund (TCF). The preserve encompasses some 9,732 acres of the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and is managed to provide suitable habitat for the RCW.

Pru Timber had intended to use the land for commercial logging, which would have jeopardized the clusters of RCW observed within its boundaries. USFWS was concerned not only about the possible effects of logging, but of the possibility that without active management, the property would become inhospitable to the woodpecker, and would soon lose protection under the ESA.

Under advisement of USFWS, NCDOT purchased the land from Pru Timber for approximately $16.3 million. The Conservation Fund, a non-profit group, will manage the site as a conservation bank. Credits may be used only when a state highway project has an unavoidable impact on the woodpecker and the NCDOT can demonstrate to the USFWS that there are no alternatives for avoiding or minimizing that impact. The credit ratio will range between 1:1 and 3:1 and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. For any given project, the USFWS can suggest that mitigation via the bank is not the best means of mitigation. Although the agreement does not exclude the sale of credits to third parties, all or most of the credits will be used by NCDOT.

Endnotes

10. http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species