More than 350 tons of asphalt removed for reforestation project

Consultant: Replanting will lead to nearly triple the amount of trees on Campbell-owned site

More than 350 tons of asphalt have been removed from Campbell University-owned land along the Cape Fear River marked for a large-scale reforestation project, the University announced this week.

And according to consultants, the project will ultimately triple the number of trees on site once completed.

The asphalt - previously left on the property located next to the Keith Hills Subdivision in Buies Creek - was removed to minimize soil and water contamination as Campbell moves forward with plans for a long-term strategic forest management and reforestation plan designed to improve the health, sustainability and future vitality of the land.

According to Bryan Denny, grounds manager at Campbell and director of the project, there were several reasons why removal of the asphalt was necessary. Chief among them, the petroleum-based materials posed an environmental hazard for the long-term health of the land. Wildlife eating vegetation near the large piles of debris were also at risk of ingesting contaminents from the materials.

Denny said the university and a hired contractor flagged any piles on the 300-plus acres of land that contained asphalt and removed them using skid steer loaders and dump trucks to an off-site dump. In addition to the asphalt removal, Campbell filled five abandoned water wells (some of them over 20 feet deep) in July, each of which posed a safety hazard.

Campbell first announced the reforestation plan for the land in May. The first phase will see the removal of invasive species of plants and trees on roughly 100 acres to eventually transform an otherwise unhealthy ecosystem into a more natural forest over the next 15 to 30 years.

According to Henry Randolph with Gelbert, Fullbright & Randolph Forestry Consultants, more than 23,000 trees will be harvested over 167 acres (roughly 140 trees per acre). The reforestation plan recommends planting 435 trees per acre, for a total of 72,645 new trees (the number does not include additional trees that will be planted in the fairway openings on the property)..

"In summary, we are replacing 23,189 poor quality trees with 72,645 young vigorous trees," Randolph said.

According to a website detailing the project, Campbell's reforestation plan "reflects a thoughtful balance of land stewardship, community responsibility and educational opportunity. While portions of the landscape will change during the reforestation process, this work represents a long-term investment in the health of the property."

According to Denny, the next few months will see crews gathering more discarded materials - such as tires and treated lumber - into piles for removal.

"There are also a few former homesteads on the property, and we have reached out to a local historian of the area with knowledge of the River tract [to learn more]," he said. "Our hope is to get more information about the land and the people that once lived here."

Learn more about Campbell's reforestation project: https://www.campbell.edu/reforestation/