Watchable Wildlife  and Watchable Wildlife Nature Trails

   The Wallace Creek Watchable Wildlife Area (WCWWA), funded through the Legacy Natural Resource Management Program, has enabled the command at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune to comply with MCO 5090.2 requirements to develop, enhance, and maintain outdoor recreational resources.  The WCWWA includes quiet gravel pathways, elevated walkways through unique forest communities, resting benches, and a series of interpretive signs and plaques which provide information about forest and wildlife resources in the immediate and surrounding area.  The benefit to the military was immediate and direct as military personnel, their dependents, civilian employees, and guests began using the area for recreational walking, biking, and jogging prior to project completion.  

    The WCWWA also has the indirect benefit of providing a wide-audience environmental education program and fostering appreciation of forest and wildlife resources aboard the Base.   An additional watchable wildlife area is proposed to connect two recreational fishing ponds.  This Henderson/Hickory Pond Nature Area will provide improved access to fishing opportunities for disabled individuals and will include a series of self-guided interpretive trails through upland and bottom-land forest communities.

Resource-Based Outdoor Recreation

     Recreational hunting, fishing, and trapping is an important component of the Game and Non-game Management Program at Camp Lejeune.  From the earliest dove season to late season quail and rabbit hunting, approximately 1200-1500 individual hunting permits are issued annually to military personnel, their dependents, and civilians serving Camp Lejeune.  The general public is provided an opportunity to utilize wildlife resources aboard the Base through a well-established sponsorship program.  Base regulations (BO 1710.20P and BBul 1710.2) governing these activities focus on safety and consistency with host state regulations as a priority. 

 

    Nearly 15,000 trips afield are made by individuals each hunting season in search of deer, dove, rabbit, squirrel, waterfowl, and wild turkey.  Annual harvests for each game animal vary, but generally reflect the availability of wildlife and the skill of the recreational user.  A concentrated effort has been made in recent years to ensure that participation in recreational hunting, fishing, and trapping by the youth of our country is not lost to sophisticated video games or the local mall.            

     The Base Skeet Range caters to many skeet and trap enthusiasts, both recreationally and competitively.  Shotguns and ammunition are available to the shooters for a nominal fee.  Skeet matches, including state and invitational matches, are conducted each year.   

    The Base Archery Range, consisting of a practice area and a nationally approved 28 target field course, is another popular facility during the spring and summer months.  The Archery Range is located in a beautifully wooded area close to the industrial areas of the Base. 

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