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U.S. House Comes Up Short on Conservation Incentives

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On December 11, the U.S. House of Representatives came up just short of enough votes to pass a bill that would have accelerated the pace of land conservation across the country. HR 5806, the “Supporting America’s Charities Act,” fell just 9 votes shy of the 2/3 majority it needed according to the special rules under which it was considered.

The bill would have made permanent the enhanced federal tax deductions for landowners who donate conservation easements.  The deductions are a key factor that enable landowners to preserve the land they love.

There were 275 votes for and 149 votes against. All 228 Republicans who were present (including all 9 from NC) voted yes, the correct vote from our viewpoint.  The measure failed to pass because of Democratic opposition.  Forty-seven Democrats voted for it, but 149 voted against.  It’s not that they opposed the provisions in the bill per se, but the politics of tax legislation are complicated, and those political considerations won out.  President Obama had threatened a veto if it had passed.

Of NC’s 4 Democratic representatives, only Rep. McIntyre voted for the bill.  Reps. Price, Butterfield, and Adams voted against.  This is a big disappointment, and all hopes for making the incentives permanent this year are dead.

Please get in touch with the NC representatives who voted yes (Reps. Jones, Coble, Ellmers, Pittinger, Holding, Hudson, Meadows, McHenry, Foxx, McIntyre) and thank them profusely for their vote. It’s never too early to start building relationships and support for next year’s efforts to pass this critical legislation.

And thank you to all of you who called or emailed your Member of Congress to urge them to support the bill!

CTNC Grants Help Land Trusts Conserve Ten Properties

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So far this year CTNC has awarded over $173,000 to land trusts in the NC mountains to pay for transaction costs involved with conserving ten properties. CTNC made the awards, ranging from $8,000 to $25,000, to six land trusts to protect conservation values on 616 acres. The grants are made from a portion of CTNC’s Mountain Revolving Loan Fund. Grants are available for surveys, appraisals, environmental assessments, baseline documentation reports, legal fees, closing costs, and staff time, as well as future monitoring, stewardship, and legal defense.

Funded projects include Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy’s Happy Hollow project, a conservation easement on 35 acres visible from the Whitewater Way Scenic Byway, and Pacolet Area Conservancy’s project in Polk County to protect 90 acres of mature hardwood forest along the Green River and its tributaries. In October, land trusts submitted ten more project applications which will compete for the remaining $145,000 that CTNC has available this year.

CTNC’s Orchard at Altapass Project Receives State Funding!

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During its September 16th meeting in Raleigh, the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) approved funding for 23 land conservation projects that will safeguard water quality, provide recreational opportunities, and preserve important cultural sites and wildlife habitat. This includes approval of CTNC’s full request of $180,444 to place a lasting conservation easement on the Orchard at Altapass, a Blue Ridge Parkway treasure.

“The Clean Water Management Trust Fund took decisive action to conserve high priority natural lands that will protect drinking water supplies and clean air, preserve critical wildlife habitat, and expand recreational and cultural opportunities for North Carolina families,” said Executive Director Reid Wilson.  “The trust fund’s approval for the Orchard at Altapass project means that we have secured all the funding we need to get the deal done.”

CTNC will now work with the landowners to protect the historic property from development. The land, at Parkway Milepost 328, lies within more than 2,500 acres that the Conservation Trust has already protected. It connects to other portions of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, and protection of the tract will expand public access to this challenging hike. The property is also a critical piece in CTNC’s efforts to protect clean mountain streams and a wide swath of healthy forests for wildlife.

In addition, the Orchard at Altapass is a state and national treasure. The orchard is open from early May through October, during which time it hosts approximately 50,000 visitors who can enjoy 150 musical performances, experience history and local culture through hayrides and masterful storytelling, purchase fresh apples and other traditional mountain products, and participate in environmental education activities. The Orchard at Altapass brings to life the history and culture of Appalachia.

CTNC is thrilled that the Clean Water Management Trust Fund is helping us conserve this authentic Blue Ridge destination.

Help Save the Orchard at Altapass

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Give generously today to help CTNC conserve this authentic Blue Ridge Parkway destination!

The Orchard at Altapass is a place where 50,000 people each year take in stunning mountain vistas, dance to local music, study monarch butterflies, hike trails, take hayrides, and eat fresh apples, fudge, and ice cream. And they hear poignant and hilarious stories about the families that lived in these hills generations ago. The storyteller? Orchard owner Bill Carson, the funniest former NASA rocket scientist you’ll ever come across.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina is working closely with Bill and his sister Kit Trubey to conserve forever the Orchard’s land, apple trees, trails, vistas, and cultural heritage.

Bill and Kit are dedicated to protecting this iconic Parkway landmark. They bought the 276-acre property twenty years ago to prevent development of the views and worked with the Conservation Trust to conserve almost half the land in 2001. Now, they want to guarantee the preservation of the rest, for the days long after they’re gone.

Our plan is to purchase a lasting conservation agreement on the property that will protect the orchard’s vistas and enable all of the current activities to continue. But it’s not a simple path to get there. This is a complicated project because of all the orchard’s activities, our long-term stewardship responsibilities, and the need for substantial state funding.

We need your help to ensure that we can get the job done this year. We need to raise $30,000 by June 30th to cover our transaction costs and leverage public funds to complete the project.

If we fail, the orchard’s future could be bleak. A future where inappropriate residential or commercial development rules the day, and ruins this priceless destination. That would be nothing less than a tragedy.

We hope you will give generously today to help us conserve this national treasure. Your support will help us prevent any changes that would ruin the natural beauty, mountain culture, and local economy that the orchard supports. Let’s keep the Orchard at Altapass the truly amazing place that it is.  Thank you!

CTNC Releases Report Detailing Importance of NC Conservation Tax Credit

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The Conservation Trust for North Carolina released a report, “Sprint to the Finish: The Final Days of the North Carolina Conservation Tax Credit,” documenting the public benefits provided by the state income tax credit that made it economically feasible for private landowners to conserve their family land.  The report also details the Conservation Trust’s “Money in the Ground” initiative, which provided local land trusts with private funding to complete land conservation projects that utilized the tax credit before it expired at the end of last year.  Read the report HERE.

North Carolina was the first state to establish a conservation tax credit, recognizing the importance of encouraging private lands conservation to provide clean drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, farmland for growing fresh local foods, and recreation opportunities for North Carolinians.  Since its inception in 1983, landowners have used the tax credit to voluntarily protect more than 250,000 acres of conservation land, while leveraging six dollars in land or conservation easement donations for every dollar of tax credit granted.

When the North Carolina General Assembly repealed the Conservation Tax Credit in 2013 as part of broad tax reform legislation, a popular incentive for landowners to conserve their land was eliminated.  Coupled with reduced funding for the state’s conservation trust funds over the last six years, this decision could significantly limit future voluntary conservation of private lands, slowing efforts to protect streams, farms, forests, and scenic vistas throughout North Carolina.

In response to the repeal of the NC Conservation Tax Credit, North Carolina’s 24 local land trusts intensified efforts in the final months of 2013, collaborating with landowners to conserve as many properties as possible before the tax credit expired on January 1, 2014.  Last year, local land trusts saw an 80% increase in donated land and conservation easements over the previous year, suggesting the tax credit was a powerful motivator for private land conservation.

Another indicator of the tax credit’s importance is the success of CTNC’s “Money in the Ground” initiative, a grant program that helped local land trusts complete tax credit-eligible projects with interested landowners. This grant program provided private funding for payment of transaction costs (appraisals, surveys, legal fees, etc.) to complete land or easement donations.  Often, neither the landowner nor the land trust has funds on hand to cover these costs.  The Conservation Trust granted $1.06 million from its own funds to 16 land trusts to conserve 63 properties totaling almost 7,400 acres of natural lands, leveraging more than $28 million.

“The tax credit worked because it enabled voluntary private land conservation and provided important public benefits like clean water, parks, and fresh local foods, all at a bargain to the state,” said Reid Wilson, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.  “We urge the General Assembly to restore this successful and popular tax credit in the future

Jackson Knob Property Protected on Blue Ridge Parkway

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Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) purchased a 47-acre property on Jackson Knob in Mitchell County. The tract borders the Blue Ridge Parkway and other properties protected by CTNC at the Heffner Gap Overlook located at Parkway milepost 326.

The Conservation Trust purchased the tract from CSX Transportation, Inc. with generous funding from Fred and Alice Stanback of Salisbury.  CTNC transferred the property to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Blue Ridge Parkway’s official boundary, expanding public access to conserved lands.

“Conservation of the Jackson Knob tract protects scenic views from several overlooks in a popular stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway,” said Mark Woods, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent.  “Preserving such high-quality properties is essential to the Parkway’s long-term integrity.”

Permanent protection of Jackson Knob will preserve scenic views from the Orchard at Altapass, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, and three Parkway overlooks (The Loops, North Cove and Heffner Gap). The Jackson Knob tract is adjacent to CTNC’s Heffner Gap/Overmountain Victory Trail property and the 1,488-acre conservation easement negotiated by CTNC on property owned by CSX Transportation, Inc.

“CSX is thrilled to have worked with CTNC to conserve more than 1,500 acres of forests, streams, and beautiful views of the Blue Ridge mountains,” said John W. Dillard, Resident Vice President – State Government Affairs at CSX Transportation, Inc.

Protection of Jackson Knob continues CTNC’s broader efforts, in close cooperation with local land trusts and government agencies, to protect the highest priority scenic views, streams, forests, and recreation areas along the Parkway. CTNC’s efforts are guided by a sophisticated GIS-based conservation plan and mapping tool to ensure that limited resources are focused on the most critical lands to conserve.

Highlights of CTNC’s Blue Ridge Parkway preservation efforts include Asheville’s 17,500-acre drinking water supply watershed, Waynesville’s 8,000-acre watershed, and a 523-acre property on Humpback Mountain near Jackson Knob.

North Carolina’s Local Land Trusts Present Annual Awards to Conservation Leaders

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Senator Harry Brown, Bull City Running, Town of Davidson, Muddy Sneakers, Tim Sweeney, Louis Moore Bacon, and former state employees honored by NC land trusts for promoting conservation

A legislator protecting the state’s conservation trust funds, a local business known for its efforts to get people out on trails, a town dedicated to preserving open space, a thriving nonprofit that develops future conservationists, a dedicated conservationist passionate about protecting the eastern Blue Ridge Mountains and Foothills, and a philanthropist dedicated to conserving and protecting land both locally and nationally, have been honored by North Carolina’s land trusts for their work.

Senator Harry Brown, Bull City Running in Durham, the town of Davidson, Muddy Sneakers in Brevard, Tim Sweeney, and Louis Moore Bacon are the 2014 recipients of awards given by North Carolina’s 24 local land trusts to individuals and organizations that have achieved major accomplishments in land and water protection. In addition, the land trusts honored several former state employees for their dedication to land and water conservation across our state and for safeguarding our unique natural heritage and quality of life.

The NC Land Trust awards are given to businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments, and individuals who lead efforts to protect the state’s streams and lakes, forests, farms, parkland, and wildlife habitat, thereby protecting clean drinking water and air quality, local food, and outdoor recreation. The awards were announced Monday night, April 28th, at the annual North Carolina Land Trust Assembly at the Trinity Center in Pine Knoll Shores.

Legislator of the Year: Senator Harry Brown
Nominated by Conservation Trust for North Carolina and North Carolina Coastal Land Trust

As NC Senate Majority Leader and Senior Appropriations Committee Chairman, Senator Harry Brown (R-Jones, Onslow) has been a leader in protecting the state’s conservation trust funds and advancing tax incentives for land conservation. In 2013, Senator Brown was the Land for Tomorrow coalition’s main champion on conservation funding issues. He opposed efforts to eliminate or restrict the state’s conservation trust funds, and led an initiative in the Senate to streamline the trust funds and stabilize their funding source. Senator Brown supported maintaining the functions of the Natural Heritage Trust Fund (NHTF) under the reorganized Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF).

Senator Brown continues to be a strong supporter of the NC State Parks system and the NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF). Despite Senator Brown’s efforts, the General Assembly eliminated dedicated revenue streams for PARTF and NHTF and other non-conservation programs. However, Senator Brown fought hard to maintain stable funding levels and recurring appropriations for CWMTF and PARTF, and to focus more of the available funding on land conservation projects.

In addition, Senator Brown has supported efforts to protect our state’s military bases from incompatible land uses. He has been a strong proponent of land and easement acquisition funding for buffers around military bases, which also help protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and farmland. “Senator Brown has a deep appreciation for our natural lands and waterways and knows first-hand the importance of conservation to the local economy. Senator Brown understands the connections between conservation and agriculture, tourism, the military, and hunting and fishing – all important economic drivers in his community,” said Edgar Miller, Government Relations Director for the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Corporate Conservation Partner of the Year: Bull City Running
Nominated by The LandTrust for Central NC, Eno River Association, NC Rail-Trails, and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Bull City Running is an extraordinary partner to North Carolina land trusts. Each year, Bull City Running organizes four events that highlight the protected lands and essential work of four partner organizations, and then donates the proceeds from each event to the organization. These running events bring greater awareness to the work of land trusts and provide much-needed funding. Bull City Running coordinates these runs with The LandTrust for Central NC, the Eno River Association, NC Rail-Trails, and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

“Bull City Running is a first-rate organization and brings nothing but positive publicity for the trails and the work of the land conservation groups that it puts these races together to benefit. We are thrilled to see Bull City Running receive the 2014 North Carolina Land Trust Corporate Conservation Partner Award,” said Crystal Cockman, Associate Director with The LandTrust for Central NC.

The Uwharrie Mountain Run, now in its 23rd year, benefits The LandTrust for Central NC. It has 8 mile, 20 mile, and 40 mile option. This race, held in February, was voted best trail run in the southeast by Competitor magazine. The Eno River Run will be held in October this year; this beautiful trail run, with 6 mile and 11 mile options, features the work the Eno River Association is doing at Eno River State Park. Bull City Running also hosts a 5K in the fall to benefit NC Rail-Trails, and a 50K and 12-mile trail run at Falls Lake in March to benefit the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Government Conservation Partner of the Year: Town of Davidson
Nominated by Davidson Lands Conservancy

The town of Davidson embraces the preservation of open space, has hundreds of acres of parks and miles of greenways, is bicycle and pedestrian friendly, and values the overall health of its citizens. The town’s planning ordinance, which received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Smart Growth Award in 2004, makes specific recommendations about maintaining and preserving open space. Among the core values identified in the plan are preserving undeveloped rural areas, working with neighboring jurisdictions to preserve contiguous and valuable open space, protecting scenic views along greenways and roads in rural areas, and monitoring and minimizing development impacts on significant ecosystems.

Roy Alexander, Executive Director of Davidson Lands Conservancy, is proud that the town recognizes the benefits of, and its responsibility for, providing green infrastructure. “Through its development ordinances, stream buffer protections, tree canopy policies, and other progressive actions, the Town will continue to pursue its adopted goal of protecting 50% of its area as open space. We are thankful for the town’s commitment to open space and natural areas and look forward to helping the town reach its goal.” The town currently has 167 acres of developed parkland and 3.8 miles of developed greenway. It owns 246 additional acres and has committed to three more miles of greenway. Between publicly-owned and privately-owned conservation easements, nearly 700 contiguous acres are protected in Davidson. In addition, the town of Davidson received Tree City USA Recertification for 2013 and was designated as a Walk Friendly Community, joining the ranks with 44 other pedestrian-friendly communities around the country.

Community Conservation Partner of the Year: Muddy Sneakers
Nominated by Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy

Muddy Sneakers brings 5th-grade students onto nearby protected lands with the goal of introducing them to the wonders of the natural world through a science curriculum using experiential methods. Muddy Sneakers strives to create in children a life-long love of nature and to do it in a way that enhances academic achievement, inspires the joy of living, and instills an understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. Among young students, Muddy Sneakers’ environment-based education has been shown to produce gains in social studies, science, language arts, and math, improve standardized test scores and grade-point averages, and develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making.

Muddy Sneakers is in its seventh year of bringing an experiential format to teaching science at participating public schools across western North Carolina. Muddy Sneakers began as a pilot program in the spring of 2007 with Brevard and Pisgah Forest Elementary Schools in Transylvania County, and has grown each year. This year marks the largest season to date, with 18 participating schools representing four counties: Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe, and McDowell. Muddy Sneakers has provided educational opportunities that have helped connect thousands of young people with the outdoors and helped shape them into the conservationists of the future.

Kieran Roe, Executive Director of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, believes that the work being done by Muddy Sneakers plays an important role in connecting youth with nature. “Muddy Sneakers is an innovator in designing curricula that inspire a love of the outdoors in schoolchildren while improving their academic performance. CMLC is proud to be a partner with Muddy Sneakers in promoting a conservation ethic among the next generation.”

Stanback Volunteer Conservationist of the Year: Tim Sweeney
Nominated by Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina

Since 2011, Tim Sweeney has wholeheartedly dedicated himself and considerable personal financial resources to acquiring large tracts of land to achieve ecological connectivity and landscape-scale conservation between the South Mountains and the Blue Ridge Escarpment, a critical wildlife corridor and one of Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina’s primary protection focus areas. He has also made similar conservation-minded acquisitions in western North Carolina and in Chatham County.

Sweeney’s earliest land acquisitions, in the heart of this conservation corridor, now make up the 5,185-acre Box Creek Wilderness, a registered State Significant Natural Area. Since securing Box Creek, Sweeney has coordinated closely with Foothills Conservancy and systematically acquired other highly significant tracts across this corridor, which Foothills Conservancy, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, and NC State Parks have long sought to protect.

In 2012, Sweeney provided the resources necessary for Foothills Conservancy to complete the “South Mountains to Blue Ridge Corridor Analysis” which defined the boundaries of this critical conservation corridor and identified key acquisition goals. At Foothills’ request, he also bought a critical 2,100-acre property that borders three miles of South Mountains State Park and signed a purchase option with the land trust giving them three years to raise funds to buy it at the price he paid.

“North Carolinians today and for centuries to come are very fortunate that Tim Sweeney has stepped forward at this particular time to protect our region’s mountain forests, creeks, rocky outcrops and all that is wild and wonderful within them,” said Susie Hamrick Jones, Executive Director of the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina.

Stanback Volunteer Conservationist of the Year: Louis Moore Bacon
Nominated by North Carolina Coastal Land Trust

Louis Moore Bacon is an inspirational advocate for conservation and the protection of natural resources. Raised with an appreciation for the outdoors, Bacon developed a respect for the natural world, which has driven his enthusiasm for land and water conservation. In 1992, he created the Moore Charitable Foundation to support organizations that preserve and protect wildlife habitat. The foundation has provided significant funding to more than 200 local, national and international conservation organizations.

Louis Bacon’s philanthropy has had a great impact on North Carolina. He first worked with the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust by preserving 31 acres on Ocracoke Island; this tract is now Springer’s Point Nature Preserve, one of NC Coastal Land Trust’s most popular public preserves. In one of the largest conservation easement gifts in its history, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust announced in January 2014 that Orton Plantation Holdings, LLC, owned by Bacon, had donated more than 6,442 acres at Orton Plantation. The conservation easement was given in December 2013 and followed the expansion of the historic boundary of Orton Plantation by including the woodlands, agricultural fields, restored rice fields, water courses and gardens on an adjacent 1,100 acres that are part of a new nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

The conservation easement is characterized by a variety of natural features, including forestland, creeks, streams, and ponds. Conserved forestland includes stands of Longleaf Pine and wiregrass; mixed Longleaf and Loblolly Pine; and, Cypress-gum Swamp. Wildlife habitat includes the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, quail, wild turkey, and other upland game birds.”

“Louis Moore Bacon is uniquely qualified to be recognized as one of the inheritors of Fred Stanback’s conservation legacy. His donation of a conservation easement over more than 6,442 acres at Orton Plantation is one of the most significant conservation donations in the history of the Coastal Land Trust,” said Camilla Herlevich, Executive Director of the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust.

Former State Employees Honored by all Land Trusts

North Carolina’s land trusts also recognized nine former state employees for their many years of dedication and commitment to conservation across our state — former Natural Heritage Program Director Linda Pearsall and staff members Shawn Oakley, Janine Nicholson, Bruce Sorrie, Ann Prince, and Steve Hall; former Natural Heritage Trust Fund Director Lisa Riegel; and former NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund Director Richard Rogers and staff member Christopher Fipps.

The motto of the NC Natural Heritage Program is “Science Guiding Conservation.” The staff’s expertise in identifying natural communities and rare species has allowed the land trusts to prioritize conservation efforts to make the most of limited funds and manage properties to maintain and enhance forests, streams, working farms, and scenic vistas.

With recent state budget cuts, six Natural Heritage Program staff are no longer with the agency. The NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund, which funded acquisition of significant natural heritage areas, was dissolved, though its functions were transferred to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is a major source of conservation funding to preserve water quality; it has similarly faced substantial budget cuts.

“North Carolina’s local land trusts are forever indebted to the state agencies and staff members who so expertly worked to ensure that conservation efforts protected the best of the best natural areas throughout our state, for the benefit of all North Carolina families,” said Reid Wilson, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

NC Youth Conservation Corps Weekend Program A Great Success

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CTNC, in partnership with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC), launched the spring version of our NC Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC) in Durham for two weekends this March. Called “CREW” (Conservation Recreation Experience Weekend), this volunteer opportunity brought two groups of 14-19 year-olds out onto the land for two weekends of hard work and leadership training.  CREW members gathered Friday night for dinner and team building exercises, followed by Saturday and Sunday filled with important conservation work.  The CREW weekends were led by experienced VYCC crew leaders, and they were joined by four “alumni” from last year’s NCYCC summer crews. We partnered with the Eno River Association, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, and Eno River State Park on the weekend projects.

CREW members completed 209 hours of community service on trail construction and maintenance at the Eno River State Park and Beaver Marsh Preserve. This experience reconnects young adults to nature, helps them build leadership and team building skills, and provides community service hours to high school students.

We are still recruiting crew members for paid (minimum wage) 7-week crews this summer throughout North Carolina. The application deadline is May 1, but you increase your chances by applying early. Click here to learn more about the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps and apply for a fantastic summer job.

Walmart Supports North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps

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The Walmart Foundation has contributed $15,000 to the CTNC to support the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC).  CTNC used the donation to expand the NCYCC in 2014 so more young adults can participate.  The NCYCC provides paid summer jobs for 16-24 year olds, with the aim of teaching youth valuable work and life development skills through hands-on outdoor work on high priority conservation projects.  Projects typically consist of trail construction and maintenance, habitat restoration, and invasive species removal.

“We appreciate Walmart’s generous support of North Carolina’s first statewide youth Conservation Corps,” said CTNC Executive Director Reid Wilson. “We’ll be able to expand the program to provide more young people with a summer job that will help them learn valuable work skills, earn money for school, and learn about North Carolina’s land and waters.  Plus, more natural areas will be enhanced for public use.”

The NCYCC deployed two summer crews of youth from across the state in 2013. One crew built a 7-mile mountain bike trail for the U.S. Forest Service in the Croatan National Forest.  The other crew completed a variety of projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Falls Lake Visitor Center, removed invasive species from the Eno River for North Carolina State Parks, and did trail construction and maintenance for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

“NCYCC youth work incredibly hard, often in challenging weather conditions, to complete projects that make our state’s natural lands more accessible and enjoyable to greater numbers of people,” said NCYCC Project Director Jan Pender.  “We are thrilled that Walmart has enabled us to put more crews on the ground in the summer of 2014, including on local land trusts’ protected properties, so more young people and communities benefit from the program.”

“Walmart understands that programs like the NC Youth Conservation Corps are essential to providing young people with opportunities for job training and employment,” said Brooke Mueller, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Walmart’s East Business Unit.  “We’re proud to give back to the communities we serve and are confident that a large number of youths will benefit from this important program,” Mueller said.

CTNC plans to have four or five summer NCYCC crews in 2014.  For more information and to apply, visit www.ctnc.org/about/ycc/nc-youth-conservation-corps/.  Applications are due May 1.

Two More Properties Conserved Along Blue Ridge Parkway

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CTNC purchased a 123-acre property that adjoins the Blue Ridge Parkway between mileposts 446 and 450 in Jackson County. The land, made up of three smaller tracts, contains a significant section of Woodfin Creek upstream of the Woodfin Cascades. It also borders the Mountains-to-Sea Trail which hikers can access directly off the Parkway near Woodfin Cascades Overlook. It adjoins a 31-acre property on Bear Creek which CTNC conserved in May 2013.

The property rises to 6,000-feet elevation, hosts a healthy population of native spruce, and lies completely within the Mount Lyn Lowry/Campbell Creek Significant Natural Heritage Area as designated by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The property is part of a growing area of contiguous, protected land that is intended to become the Waterrock Knob/Plott-Balsams Park along the Parkway.

CTNC also purchased a 54-acre property at milepost 440 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville in Haywood County. This property is visible to Parkway visitors at both the Waynesville Overlook and the Village of Saunook Overlook, and while driving nearby stretches of the Parkway between mileposts 440 and 441. This property contains a small portion of the Pinnacle Ridge Natural Heritage Area and bookends a string of five CTNC-protected properties including the Waynesville Watershed conservation easement, co-held with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

The Conservation Trust purchased these properties below appraised value. The bargain sale enabled the landowners to claim the state’s income tax credit for conservation donations before the credit expired on January 1, 2014, due to state legislative action. Generous funding for the purchases was provided to CTNC by Fred and Alice Stanback of Salisbury. CTNC plans to convey the properties to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Parkway’s official boundary within three years. 

“These two beautiful properties will be excellent additions to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ensuring that water quality, healthy forests, and stunning views are preserved along the Parkway is critical to the park’s long-term health and vitality,” said Mark Woods, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent.

“The owners of these properties wanted to conserve their land and were able to do so in part because of the state tax income credit for conservation donations, which was recently repealed.  We hope that in the future the NC General Assembly will reconsider its decision to terminate this successful program, which has helped conserve over 240,000 acres of natural lands,” said CTNC Executive Director Reid Wilson.

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