From U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Like everywhere else in eastern North Carolina, rain has pounded Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge recently. We’re usually much more concerned with not having enough water because drought can cause the high-organic-content peat soil to dry out. Then, the soil can actually catch on fire and burn for months, like it did in the Evans Road fire in 2008.

But the double-digits-above-normal rainfall we’ve had for the last two-plus years is presenting us with the new challenge of too much water in parts of the refuge. For example, water was recently observed backing up into the edge of Seagoing Road in the middle of the refuge. The area south of Seagoing Road drains directly to the northwest fork of the Alligator River, indicating that even the river is overwhelmed, at least in its headwaters. Likewise, we’ve been having trouble draining water from a section of the refuge near Columbia, which is resulting in tree mortality and has USFWS looking at alternative means of evacuating the water from the area. Seems like lately, when it rains, it pours.