Site Description: The site is located on the Albemarle-Pamlico peninsula, near the town of Columbia.   It includes two large natural lakes - Phelps and Pungo- more than 50,000 acres of pocosin and 25,000 acres of riverine swamp.  The site also includes cropland planted annually  and managed to provide foraging habitat for tens of thousands of Tundra Swans and Snow Geese during winter. This is North Carolina' premier wintering site for Tundra Swans and Snow Geese and supports the largest wintering population of Tundra Swans on the Atlantic Flyway.   
    The Pungo Unit of the refuge was established in 1963.  The Pocosin Lakes component was established in 1990.  All are managed under the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge was established to protect habitat for migratory waterfowl and to protect a significant area of pocosin.
    Pettigrew State Park, named for Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew, is located on the northern edge of Lake Phelps.  The site is about 1200 acres in total area and includes 500 acres of pocosin. 

Habitats: natural lakes, pocosin, riverine forested wetland, and agricultural lands.

Land Use: Agriculture (cultivation for waterfowl), recreation/tourism, hunting

Primary Threats: The most critical threat to the site is the establishment of a Navy jet fighter landing facility near the Refuge.  Follow link to learn more.   Help Stop Navy Airfield from Destroying NC Wildlife Refuges!  Additional threats include natural pests (Phragmites), groundwater extraction, drought, drainage, disturbance to birds.

Protection Status: The majority of the site is under state or federal protection.

Conservation Issues: The establishment of a Navy jet fighter landing facility in the midst of a site that supports tens of thousands of swans, geese and ducks defies good sense.  An encounter with just one bird would likely result in the death of a highly skilled pilot and crew, and the loss of a multi-million dollar aircraft.  Nevertheless, the Navy continues to consider sites adjacent to Lake Mattamuskeet NWR and Pocosin Lakes NWR..     

Birds:  The site supports 80,000 to 100,000 waterfowl during an average winter  Tundra Swan and Snow Goose are the most abundant.  The site supports the state's largest wintering populations of both species. Common Mergansers winter regularly on Lake Phelps and on several occasions over 200 birds have been reported.  This is the state's largest wintering population of this species. The fields west of Lake Phelps have a good wintering population of Short - eared Owl; sometimes 5 - 10 have been reported. Further studies of landbirds are needed.