SANCTUARY SYSTEM OF THE YEAR (2001-2002) With 10 sanctuaries totaling over 8,000 acres, Bladen County, North Carolina represents our largest and most diverse system of protected private lands in North America.

Turtles found here

See last year's Sanctuary. Sanctuary habitats include rivers and cypress swamps, lakes, pocossins, Carolina bays, sandhills, and Coastal Plain hardwood forest. One of our Bladen County sanctuaries property is owned by the oldest hunt club in this hemisphere. Another is our Tortoise Reserve property near White Lake.

Turtles occurring here: Snapping Turtle Eastern Painted Turtle Spotted Turtle Eastern Chicken Turtle Eastern River Cooter Florida Cooter Eastern Box Turtle Yellowbelly Slider Striped Mud Turtle Eastern Mud Turtle Common Musk Turtle