Gold Hill Quarry

About the Program
Vulcan Materials Company's Gold Hill Quarry encompasses 400 acres in Gold Hill, North Carolina, about an hour northeast of Charlotte. The site functions as a quarry for construction materials. The team manages the habitat, including a 10-acre wetland, to promote its populations of osprey, wood ducks and eastern bluebirds.

Practices and Impacts

• The team has been monitoring the vegetation in the wetland since 2017. Species observed include sawgrass, water lily and cattail. Wildlife observed in the habitat include the American bullfrog, Canada goose and black rat snake.
• Since 2003, the team has provided nesting boxes for eastern bluebirds. There are currently 21 boxes on-site, which the team monitors annually.
• In 2012, osprey have built a nest on a structural support on-site. A second pair built an additional nest in 2018. The team monitors the nests during the breeding season. Both nests have been successful in hatching young the last three years.
• The team maintains and monitors eight nesting boxes for wood ducks in the wetland habitat. The surrounding terrestrial habitat was also recently seeded with millet, soy bean and fescue to provide additional food for the ducks. The number of eggs and hatched young has been increasing in recent years.