Hagans Forest Has Rich Conservation Value
January 31, 2012Forum to Focus on Economics and Sustainability for Farming
February 8, 2012
In 2011, a conservation easement for Hagans Forest was donated to Catawba Lands Conservancy. Hagans Forest is approximately 202 acres and located near Crowders Mountain State Park in Gaston County. This land has outstanding conservation value, and includes a 185-acre forest that is a regionally significant Natural Heritage Area. There are two protected plants and wildlife specifies that call this forest home.
The property is also a viewshed for Crowder’s Mountain State Park and protects the pristine views from Kings Pinnacle. Hagans Forest serves as watershed protection for six streams located on the property.
The most abundant community of trees within of
this forest are the chestnut-oaks, which belong to the most common forest community found in North Carolina. There are also several communities of dry oak-hickory trees.
Hagans Forest is part of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program which inventories, catalogues, and supports conservation of the rarest and the most outstanding elements of the natural diversity of our state. These elements of natural diversity include those plants and animals which are so rare or the natural communities which are so significant that they merit special consideration.
