The mountain bog ecosystem ranks as one of Western North Carolina's most rare and endangered habitats. These precious wetlands contain soils and plants that are very different from the communities surrounding them. Because the soil is highly acidic, low in nutrients, and saturated with water, only plants adapted to these conditions can survive here. In spite of such restrictions, however, as many as 90 species of rare, threatened, or endangered plants find a home in these mountain bogs. In keeping with nature's never-ending diversity, some bogs produce a mixture of each.
Water is the lifeblood of a bog ecosystem.
Bogs, therefore, are found in depressions or among level areas within river and stream floodplains. Though the water level in a bog often varies with rainfall, it is groundwater, rather than precipitation, that influences these wetlands. Groundwater enters slowly from springs and underground seeps. Estimated to have once totaled 5,000 acres, North Carolina's mountain bogs have been drained or partially altered over the centuries. There are now only 500 acres of bogs remaining in the region.