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Urge NC lawmakers to keep conservation funding in state budget
North Carolina lawmakers are now working on a final state spending plan for 2008, and they need to hear your voice! The House approved a budget proposal in early June that included $50 million in additional funding for conservation programs, as well as $4 million for the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. But the state Senate’s proposal, unveiled a couple of weeks later, contained none of those appropriations.
Lawmakers from both chambers are now negotiating a final budget and hope to have it ready by the beginning of July. Call or write to your state lawmakers today to urge them to include conservation funding in the final budget.
This is a critical time to support land and water conservation. Land prices have dropped, a sustained drought is showing the fragility of our drinking water supplies, and North Carolina is losing hundreds of thousands of acres of farms, forests, stream banks, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat and natural areas to development.
We won’t get a second chance to protect these unique resources – once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
Check our link to Land for Tomorrow on our Action Alert page for help on how to write to your state senators and representatives. And keep an eye on this site for news about the state budget.
Southern Appalachians Highlands Conservancy protects AT views, North Toe River headwaters
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has bought 410 acres in Avery County as part of its effort to protect the Highlands of Roan. The deal will permanently protect scenic views from the Appalachian Trail on Roan's Grassy Ridge, water quality of the French Broad River Basin, and natural heritage of this globally significant region. Read more about the accomplishment at the What’s New? section of SAHC’s Web site.
LandTrust for Central NC acquires Uwharries’ highest peak
The LandTrust for Central North Carolina recently acquired the 340-acre King Mountain property in southern Randolph County, reputed to be the highest peak in the Uwharrie Mountain range. The property is a Natural Heritage Site and includes a population of the rare Piedmont indigo bush. The mountain serves as the headwaters for some of the region’s cleanest streams, home to rare mussel species.
Read more in the news release.
Read local coverage of the announcement.
North Carolina’s Most Memorable Roads Get Protection
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina, on behalf of nine local land trusts, has been awarded a $252,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration to help preserve land along 560 miles of North Carolina’s most treasured scenic highways.
Read More »
Water’s Running Short Across the Country
North Carolina is experiencing what is predicted to be an
increasingly common crisis across the U.S. – not
enough water to quench an ever-growing thirsty population.
Read More »
A Cry for the Catawba: Drought and Development Threaten the Source of Life for our Cities
The Charlotte Observer examines how land development threatens western North Carolina’s water supplies in the first of an eight part series
Read Article »
The Blue Ridge Parkway: The Long View
Blue Spiral 1 Gallery owner John Cram, exhibition artists, and Blue Ridge Society Members raise over $40,000 to preserve North Carolina’s Appalachian landscape
Read More »
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina Transfers Land to the National Park Service
The Conservation Trust transferred two properties, totaling 37 acres, to the National Park Service to be added to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The properties are located less than two miles from the Little Switzerland post office at Milepost 335. Both properties will preserve water quality and the Parkway’s scenic views in this rapidly developing section of the Parkway.
See Press Release »
Landowners Joins Conservancy to Protect Upper Green River
John Ball and his neighbor Sandy Schenck joined the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy to protect more than 3,895 acres of the forests, coves, and rocky outcrops of the Upper Green River. Read Story »
North Carolinians Help Save Mountain Landscape
The Conservation Trust raised more than $15,000 to protect lands along the Blue Ridge Parkway at a reception and fundraiser August 24th in Blowing Rock. The event was hosted by a group of committed conservationists and sponsored by Steve and Terry Moberg, owners of the Crestwood Inn, and Jeffrey Scott of Frontline Conservation Real Estate.
Read more »
New Maps Predict Alarming Loss of North Carolina Open Space
The Conservation Trust released a report and series of maps that show an astounding increase in housing density in North Carolina. The report, entitled “From Rural to Suburban in Less Than a Century: Changes in Housing Density in North Carolina,” shows that, with a few exceptions, North Carolina’s farms, forests, and other natural lands will be islands in a sea of suburban development by 2030.
View Map »
View Report »
View Press Release »
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