Fire is nature's way of ridding the longleaf ecosystem of damaging insects, disease and too many plants competing for soil, nutrients, water and light. Fire is also a necessary agent of change. Francis Marion National Forest conducts controlled burns, primarily in the winter, but increasingly in the spring and early summer months, according to Kiser. Visitors should call ahead to plan their visit to avoid prescribed burn areas. Some bays are openwater depressions dotted with pond cypress trees and rimmed by pitcher plants and sundew.
Some bays are thick pocosins of shrubby sweet bay, fetterbush and pond pines.
They can comprise one acre or thousands of acres. The common denominator of Carolina Bays is their symmetrical formation. They are generally oval depressions and the long axis always runs from northwest to southeast. The geological origin of these wetlands remains a mystery. Only about 200 of South Carolina's original 2,600 natural bays have remained in their pristine state.