Campbell announces environmental reforestation plan for land along Cape Fear

A reforestation project has begun on more than 100 acres of land near the Keith Hills community and along the Cape Fear River, Campbell University announced this week.

The project at Campbell's River Park is the first phase of a forest management plan to remove invasive species of plants and trees and transform an otherwise unhealthy ecosystem into a more natural forest over the next 15 to 30 years.

"Campbell University recognizes the importance of establishing a strategic forest management plan for this land," said Haven Hottel, assistant vice president for marketing and communications. "As stewards of this property, it's vital to develop a plan that will emphasize ecological sustainability, protect the waterway and support teaching, research and other recreational opportunities for years to come."

Henry Randolph, a partner in Lillington-based GFR Forestry Consultants - a private firm that has worked on similar projects in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for the past 30 years - says bids have gone out for a company to purchase and harvest timber, marking the beginning of the project. He says the land, which is used by members of the community for its walking trails and by students and faculty at Campbell for research, is in need of a "reset."

"At some point, the fields were abandoned, natural seeding occurred and the loblolly pines took over the fields," Randolph said. "Often, you get too many trees in some places and not enough in other places. In this situation, you really have too many trees."

Instead of healthy, high-quality trees, Randolph says the forest area at River Park has too many crooked trees with forks and limb scars. Many trees, he says, are dying because of "self-thinning," which occurs when trees are competing for natural resources like sunlight, water and nutrients.

"So, the idea is to take those trees, harvest them … and then replant trees with superior genetics," Randolph added. "We will do site preparation to make sure we can control the invasive species and really manage those fields."

The plan includes the harvesting of old field pines that regenerated naturally on the property approximately 30 years ago when the agricultural fields were abandoned. This decision was made in an effort to be more actively engaged in the management of River Park and meet the University's desire to be good stewards of the land. Management will include protection of wildlife, water quality and both recreational and instructional use by Campbell students and members of the community. According to Randolph, reforestation will benefit early successional species such as bobwhite quail and many neotropical migrant songbirds that utilize the brushy thick understory of young pine stands.

The land is part of 370 acres between U.S. 421 and the Cape Fear River - sandwiched between the Keith Hills community and the historic Cedar Grove community. Formerly the "back nine" of the Keith Hills golf course, the land has been used by Campbell University biology and science students and faculty for research for several years. It's also home to walking trails, wildlife viewing areas, camping sites, fishing areas and kayak and canoe landings.

Dr. Melissa Stancil, an assistant professor who teaches courses in rural health and behavioral health, says students in her program will take the reforestation opportunity to study water quality along the site. Buffers will be placed between the project at the river (and surrounding communities) to reduce environmental impact, and Stancil's students will monitor nearby streams, creeks and the river.

"The interconnectedness of ecosystems makes them resilient, but it also means they are delicately balanced, and any change has impacts," she said. "Forest management is inherently a long-term endeavor, so our research will span not only the initial timber harvesting, but also reforestation."

Forest management that adheres to best management practices takes water quality into consideration, avoiding sedimentation, nutrient leaching and chemical contamination, Stancil said.

"Campbell's Public Health faculty, staff and students are ready and committed to collaborating with our community and partners at GFR, as research and relationship building help us all improve and learn together how to best honor all life in this amazing place."

Randolph said he is aware of concerns that the park will be "destroyed" and reiterated that the work being done - while "ugly" at first - will ultimately lead to better long-term natural health of the forest area.

"Basically, year one, we're controlling the vegetation," he said. "For the first few years, it's going to look like a broom straw field, because the broom straw is going to come back. And then, those pines are going to start climbing up above that. In about five years, they're going to be head-high, and you're not going to see anything but a wall of young trees."

As part of the long-term forest management plan, Randolph said in about 15 years, his firm would go back in and begin thinning to give larger healthy trees more room to grow. The full maturation process takes approximately 30 years.

To do nothing, Randolph said, would be detrimental to the forest. He said Campbell is being "good stewards of the land" by going through with the reforestation project.

"You drive down the road today and see the many tracts of land where trees are being cut, and you wonder about the end use," he said. "Is it a high-density subdivision? A data center? That's not what this is. After we harvest this land, we're planting a new forest. It'll be for wildlife, for recreational use and for instructional use. It will initially generate revenue for the university, but the forest and the park itself will still be in place."

The first phase of the project will run from Club Road to the middle of River Park, which will not impact access to the Keith Hills community.

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