The New Hope Creek Biodiversity Inventory (2021 - 2022)

 In 2021, the Durham County Open Space Program contracted with the North Carolina Biodiversity Project to conduct a comprehensive biological survey of the New Hope Creek Corridor. Funded through a grant from the Burt's Bees Foundation, this study involved intense field research to tally species in over a dozen taxonomic groups—everything from birds, mammals, and plants to fungi, lichen, and slime molds. Their report, now available here, is a remarkable achievement. It describes a diverse ecosystem kept healthy by decades of concerted conservation efforts, a landscape home to rare plants, intriguing animals, and—possibly—organisms previously unknown to science. It unflinchingly documents the pressures that threaten the New Hope Creek Corridor and details what must be done to keep them at bay. Finally, in its scope, its methods, and its recommendations, it is an invaluable contribution not only to the protection of the New Hope Creek ecosystem, but to conservation science as a whole. Click here to read the inventory report.

^{Green Treefrog, Turkey Tail Fungus, Moss, and Bark Algae on a fallen Green Ash. Photo by Steve Hall.}  

Rare Species and Habitat Mapping Study (2023)

Following the completion of the comprehensive New Hope Creek Biodiversity Survey, researchers from the North Carolina Biodiversity Project mapped and assessed a few select species, focusing on the County’s New Hope Creek Bottomlands Preserve. These species include two rare plants—shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa) and white-nymph (Trepocarpus aethusae)—and several other indicator species associated with these rich habitats along New Hope Creek. The geographic data in this report will help the Open Space Program prioritize ecological management, restoration, and continued protection of these significant and sensitive components of this remarkable ecosystem. Click here to read the study.

^{Shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa). Photo by Steve Hall.}