A system of truck trails and firebreaks was established to provide protection and permit access for fire control to distant sites. An educational program to encourage fire prevention was also initiated. Many of the wildlife species which had disappeared from the landscape were restocked on the refuge in the 1940s, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and beaver. Other native species returned to the area as the habitat was restored. All timber management practices carried out on Carolina Sandhills Refuge serve to provide wildlife habitat to best meet the needs of native species.
Special attention is given to the needs of endangered and threatened species.
Maintaining a diversity of forest habitat types that mirror the historic and natural distribution of species is an important goal for our forest management program. Forest management needs are planned and scheduled using management prescriptions which are prepared for each of the Refuge's 20 timber compartments. These prescriptions describe the management techniques proposed along with an inventory and description of the forest and wildlife resources occurring within the area. The special needs of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker are provided for and included in these plans. Emphasis is placed on management techniques that maintain present and future foraging habitat for these birds.