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Holly Shelter

The Wildness of Holly Shelter North Carolina

Posted on May 19, 2016July 15, 2021

When I leave my wooded neighborhood and pull into Holly Shelter from Route 17, I’m always struck by how exposed and hot I feel, even when it’s not the middle of the blistering summer. The dusty roads lead through fire-scorched pine savannah, then fields and bogs. There’s not much cover here, but stop and look closely and you’ll find an amazing diversity of life.

Swallowtail butterflies are swarming. They fly across my view and pounce on the hip-high yellow thistle that lines the road. This plant is also called “horrible thistle,” presumably because it’s covered with menacing thorns. Cinnamon fern and wildflowers appear along the drive and the long dusty road changes the color of my car to a tan gray as the dirt clings on and I can hardly see out the windows. I turn the wrong way down an unmarked road, but I’m not worried because it’s usually how I find something new.

I’ve been coming to Holly Shelter for years. It’s big, but I know where to find the threatened venus flytraps that are native only to the Carolinas, within 60 miles or so of Wilmington, NC. They blanket the ground, so low you might miss them as they are disguised by other plants and grasses. I also know where the alligators are, and the turtles, bullfrogs, coots, herons, wild blackberries, pitcher plants, bog laurel, and wild iris.

I walk down side roads and through fields. I admire the bright yellow pitcher plant flowers and the vivid red mouths and long eyelashes of the venus flytraps. I look closely at a Virginia chain fern leaf from last season and notice how the sunlight highlights all the intricate pathways along each leaf.

I find all sorts of other wildflowers and ferns I can’t identify. It’s spring and life and color surrounds me. Small cypress trees line bogs next to what were previously farm fields and logging operations. Hawks dip in the air and land on far away branches. The white and pink flowers of wild azaleas dot the landscape in the dry grasses below longleaf pine trees. I walk through a field of heartwing sorrel and crimson clover. I find plenty of deer tracks, but no bear tracks as I’ve seen in the past.

The sun sinks lower as I walk along the waterfowl impoundment area. A snake plays dead as I approach, while several others race through the water. A very large turtle allows me to sit nearby and observe. I listen to the bullfrogs belch and zip back into the water as I walk by. How can they sense me?

This land is teeming with diversity seldom explored. I see few other people here, and unfortunately they’re always hunters, even in the off-season. More people should claim this space for hiking and nature exploration. Holly Shelter is our public land, a natural wonder available for all of us to immerse ourselves in the wildness and beauty of our area.



Holly Shelter Game Land consists of 63,494 acres in Pender County owned by the State of NC and managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Primarily used for hunting, the land is also available for hiking and nature exploration (with no hunting permitted on Sundays). The gates are closed for the summer/off-season in May, allowing only walking or biking access. The approximate coordinates to enter from Hwy 17 are 34.409968, -77.656676 or enter across from 7471 Shaw Hwy, Rocky Point. Contact: (910) 259‐5555.


Holly Shelter Map: http://ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Hunting/Game-Land-Maps/Coastal/Holly-Shelter.pdf
Game Land Rules: http://ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Regs/Documents/Game-Lands.pdf
Management Plan: http://ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Hunting/GameLand-Plans/Holly-Shelter-GLMP.pdf


i love trees logoAbout the Author:
Sue Cag is a musician, artist, writer, photographer, and conservationist.


All photos and video by Sue Cag. All Rights Reserved. Photos and video may not be used without permission.


PHOTO GALLERY

Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Field of Crimson Clover at Holly Shelter
Bullfrog at Holly Shelter
Wild Azalea at Holly Shelter
Cinnamon Fern at Holly Shelter
Heron Taking Flight at Holly Shelter
Crimson Clover at Holly Shelter
Wild Azalea at Holly Shelter
Cinnamon Fern at Holly Shelter
Virginia Chain Fern at Holly Shelter
Yellow Thistle and Butterfly Taking Flight at Holly Shelter
Alligator at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Bear Track at Holly Shelter (2010)
Pitcher Plants at Holly Shelter
Pine Savannah at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Venus Flytrap at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plant at Holly Shelter
Alligator at Holly Shelter
Bog Laurel at Holly Shelter
Venus Flytrap at Holly Shelter
Heartwing Sorrel at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Sunset at Holly Shelter
Snake in the road at Holly Shelter
Sunset at Holly Shelter
Wild Iris at Holly Shelter
Field of Crimson Clover at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Lack of Trails at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plant at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plants at Holly Shelter
Sunset at Holly Shelter
Turtle at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plants at Holly Shelter
Can you spot the alligator?
Hawk in the Distance (Video Still) at Holly Shelter
Cinnamon Fern at Holly Shelter
Yellow Thistle at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Coot and Cypress (Video Still) at Holly Shelter
Wild Blackberries at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plants (Video Still) at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter Entrance on Shaw Hwy
Cypress at Holly Shelter
Tall Tree in the Distance at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plants (Video Still) at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter
Impoundment Sign at Holly Shelter
Pitcher Plants (Video Still) at Holly Shelter
Holly Shelter

All photos by Sue Cag. All Rights Reserved. Photos may not be used without permission.

 

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