Biodiversity Trail Facts

The 14-county Central Carolinas region is served by three major watersheds – the Catawba, Yadkin-Pee Dee, and Broad – combining for 10,361 miles of rivers and streams.  These rivers are the lifeblood for all the natural communities and ecosystems they flow through as well as sources of drinking water, electricity, and outdoor recreation. 

Thirty-three federal and state endangered or threatened plant and animal species can be found in the region.  Natural areas along the Biodiversity Trail provide critical habitat for many of these species but also provide food, water, and shelter necessary to keep common species common.

The two greatest threats to biodiversity in the region are habitat loss and the invasion of exotic plants and animals.  Over 40 acres of natural areas are converted to other uses each day while invasive exotics outcompete native wildlife and negatively alter important habitats.

bi∙o∙di∙ver∙si∙ty  (bī ׳ō-dĭ-vûr ׳sĭ-tē)  n.  1. The sum total of all plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, along with their variations and interactions.  2. A term first coined in 1986 by Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson to replace “biological diversity” with a term more effective in communicating the concept to the public.