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Funding Critical Land Conservation in Western North Carolina

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Through the Mountain Revolving Loan Fund, CTNC awards small grants to land trusts conserving critical lands in Western North Carolina. 

From direct assistance with land protection to awarding small grants, CTNC is proud to work alongside and support the efforts of our land trust partners throughout North Carolina. Each year, CTNC offers low-interest loans, and awards small grants through our Mountain Revolving Loan Fund to facilitate critical conservation projects spearheaded by local land trusts in Western North Carolina.

The purpose of the Mountain Revolving Loan Fund (MRLF) is to provide bridge financing with minimal interest to North Carolina land trusts for the purchase of conservation land and easements. This fund was established with the help of a generous donor with a passion for conservation in Western North Carolina. A unique component of the MRLF Program is our small grants program, whereby CTNC awards grants of up to $25,000 each to eligible land trusts for land and easement acquisitions. Unlike the loans, these grants do not have to be paid back by the recipient.

“CTNC’s MRLF loans and grants have been crucial components of many conservation successes by our partners in Western North Carolina,” said Rusty Painter, Land Protection Director. “By the very nature of the MRLF Program, as loans are repaid, the money becomes available to re-lend, thus continually providing a stream of financing that allows land trusts to respond quickly to properties highly threatened by development. A percentage of the balance of the loan fund is given out each year in grant awards.”

Each year CTNC receives many fantastic applications from our partners. This year, CTNC awarded $113,400 to seven land trusts. Here is a list of the great projects we are proud to support:

Oak Hill Community Park & Forest project in foreground. BRP in background. (Photo courtesy of FCNC.)

The Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina (FCNC) was awarded $20,000 to help fund the new Oak Hill Community Park and Forest. FCNC will manage and develop this land near Morganton in central Burke County for a community park, forest, and farm. Establishing a free, public park and forest will improve the quality of life for all citizens of Burke County and Morganton through easy access to nature for passive outdoor recreation, environmental education, community agriculture, and archeological exploration.

Blue Ridge Conservancy (BRC) was awarded $12,650 to design the Valle Crucis Watauga River Access in Watauga County. BRC purchased the 2.5 acre property in partnership with a conservation buyer to create a public access to the Watauga River. This project is in connection with a greater mission to provide public access to land and water resources, especially recreation as this land will become a public access site for fishing, tubing and paddling.

View looking east along edge of Valley River area. (Photo courtesy of MCT).

Mainspring Conservation Trust was awarded $17,500 for their Wood Farm project in Cherokee County, an important acquisition to protect 391.53 acres of land and the largest intact farmland tract in Western North Carolina. This is a strategic acquisition for Mainspring as the land adjoins three adjacent conservation easements, which together will protect agricultural soil classified as Prime and Soil of Statewide Importance, 2- miles of Valley River (classified C and Trout Waters), and four tributary streams. 

Conserving Carolina has been awarded $15,000 to fund the Franklin Bog property that will protect over 17 acres in Henderson County. By protecting this important land tract, Conserving Carolina will prevent upland development that would impact the recent, expensive bog restoration done under the direction of expert Dennis Herman. Protecting this site will also preserve a pond adjacent to the DOT restoration site, a pond which the US Fish and Wildlife Service has documented to provide key habitat to southern bog turtles who enjoy basking at the edge of the pond. Additionally, the pond offers an excellent opportunity for restoration to enlarge the bog in the future.

Chestnut Mountain Property. (Photo courtesy of SAHC).

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) has been awarded $20,000 for the Chestnut Mountain property to protect 448 acres in Haywood County. The majority of the property will be a conservation easement with forest and trails. SAHC is already drafting an exciting future for the location by planning to build a 91-acre “park hub” that will contain park infrastructure such as a pavilion, some parking, a bike skills progression course for all ages, and bathrooms. This large tract under protection will also permanently protect 9 miles of stream in the French Broad River Basin, as well as secure habitat for NC wildlife, including three rare species: white bear sedge, upland bladder fern and the Cherokee melanoplus grasshopper.

Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) has been awarded $12,500 to complete a donated easement on 322 acres of the Womble family land in Alleghany County. The property is completely undeveloped with several headwater streams and forests. This property is situated in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Mitchell River, which has been a key protection initiative of PLC since 1999. In addition to protecting Mitchell River headwaters, another conservation value of the Womble property is that it is located on the Blue Ridge Escarpment, one of the most ecologically diverse regions in North Carolina.

The Womble property. (Photo courtesy of PLC).

Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT) has been awarded $18,350 to place a 25-acre easement on the Horse Cove Bog property in Macon County. The Horse Cove conservation easement is a new project but has been on HCLT’s high priority list since 2011, and the land trust has worked with the land owner on three other easements. The Horse Bog Cove is currently unprotected, but it holds special conservation value: it is the site of an existing bog and a wetland complex associated with seeps at the toe of Rich Mountain. The property also has a rich heritage: the valley bottom of Horse Cove is the gateway to the Highlands/Cashiers Plateau and was settled as early as 1835 to build pasture lands and homes.

These are just a few examples of critical projects CTNC is able to support in Western North Carolina with the support of generous land conservation donors. From parks to farms to bogs, CTNC is proud to support the diligent efforts of our land trust partners. The Mountain Revolving Loan Fund and small grant program serves as an important reminder that we are all allies in the work to build a more resilient and just North Carolina.

Private Investment in Watershed Protection Advances Triangle Conservation Efforts

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Novel partnerships and long-term collaboration enable the region to address watershed health

North Carolina’s Triangle region (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary-Garner) is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. Rapid development threatens the forests, wetlands and grasslands that naturally protect drinking water supplies for 600,000 people in Raleigh, Garner, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon areas. Natural infrastructure, like forests and wetlands, can address these challenges by providing basic services from water flow regulation and flood control to water purification and water temperature regulation. But with the rising cost to acquire land in and around the Triangle, protecting these places has become increasingly costly for nonprofits and public agencies.

In recent years, public agencies Raleigh Water, Wake County, City of Durham and Town of Cary have worked alongside local land trusts including Conservation Trust for North Carolina, The Conservation Fund, and Triangle Land Conservancy to acquire and manage land in the Falls and Jordan Lake watersheds. Now, the Caterpillar Foundation is among corporate foundations and private investors stepping up to fill a critical funding need.

The Foundation will invest $250,000 in natural infrastructure and land conservation as part of a new partnership to safeguard important local natural lands.

“Local communities in the Triangle Region are increasingly investing in natural infrastructure, although the COVID-19 pandemic has strained public budgets and limited cities and their utilities resources and capacity to protect vast watersheds at a critical time,” said Edward Buchan, City of Raleigh.

This initiative fits into a growing movement to integrate natural infrastructure with traditional concrete-and-steel infrastructure to improve delivery of core services, like drinking water and flood protection, while increasing resilience. World Resources Institute, a global research organization, has advised this alliance on strategies to combine “green” and “gray” infrastructure by leveraging new partnerships and funding opportunities. The Caterpillar Foundation is one of the first corporate foundations to develop a dedicated program to support this new approach.

“Novel partnerships and long-term collaboration are critical to addressing watershed health across the region,” said CTNC Executive Director Chris Canfield. “Everyone has a role to play. Public water users provide the base funding through the utilities, land trusts collaborate on protection plans and secure the land, and private partners like the Caterpillar Foundation help get it all over the finish line.”

The Caterpillar Foundation hopes to both accelerate the program with this new financing and encourage volunteer engagement of their locally-based employees.

“This partnership provides us the opportunity to not only advance an exciting new model for watershed protection, but does so in a community in which many Caterpillar families call home,” said Caterpillar Foundation President Asha Varghese. “We hope the success of initiatives like this can build momentum for new environmental innovation and investment. We believe multi-sectoral collaboration is key to achieving sustainable infrastructure solutions, and ultimately, building resilient communities.”

“There are thousands of community water systems that could benefit from this model to protect and manage natural infrastructure assets,” said Todd Gartner, Director of WRI’s Cities4Forests and Natural Infrastructure Initiatives. “Leading initiatives like this set a new high-water mark for city-led innovation that harnesses nature’s potential to supply clean drinking water, creates recreational opportunities, and boosts resilience.”

The Caterpillar Foundation investment will supplement public and private funds to make possible the acquisition of land in the Upper Neuse watershed. It will protect river and stream frontage that are highly vulnerable to development. In addition to ecosystem services, these natural lands provide important outdoor opportunities for communities to connect with nature. Creating new outdoor recreational opportunities can both stimulate the local economy and boost public health.

In Raleigh, the average water customer pays an additional $0.57 per month, which contributes funds toward the protection of thousands of acres of crucial natural lands through the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative, a program of Raleigh Water. For more information on collaborative watershed protection and restoration efforts spearheaded by public and private partnerships in the Triangle, visit upstreammatters.org.

Protecting another 53-acres in Western NC

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Little Glade Creek is Now a Permanent Piece of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Little Glade Creek is a permanently protected portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway thanks to private donors and Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) supporters.

This quiet nook of the parkway along Little Glade Creek near Parkway milepost 228, approximately 2 miles north of Little Glade Mill Pond, enables forests on site to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Prevention of development and impervious surfaces on the property will reduce the potential for flooding of Little Glade Creek.

Drivers along the Parkway benefit from this protection, particularly during leaf-off seasons when development on the property would have disrupted the beautiful vistas and treelines.

“North Carolina is one of the most rapidly developing states in the country and we need to protect all the open space we can,” said Rusty Painter, CTNC’s Land Protection Director. “Protecting land today ensures future generations can enjoy nature in our state.”

Protection of this property furthers CTNC’s efforts to widen the narrow corridor of protected land between Bullhead Mountain and Stone Mountain State Parks to the south and Saddle Mountain/Mitchell River Game Lands to the north. Its addition to the Parkway further enhances the Parkway’s ability to serve as a south-to-north migration corridor for species seeking a cooler climate in more northern latitudes.

CTNC purchased two adjoining properties to protect a 53-acre tract. This project shows how the protection of one property can lead to saving of others around it, amplifying the conservation benefit. CTNC transferred both tracts to the National Park Service (NPS) in fall 2022 for incorporation into the boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Previous News:

Conservation Trust Expands Protection along Little Glade Creek and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Raleigh, N.C. Another important property along the Blue Ridge Parkway is now permanently protected, having recently been acquired by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC). CTNC purchased the 23-acre property at a discounted price. This is a strategic acquisition because the tract adjoins a 31-acre property already owned by CTNC. CTNC will transfer both tracts to the National Park Service (NPS) for incorporation into the boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The property contains a spring that feeds Little Glade Creek near milepost 228. Both properties provide a scenic natural buffer along the Parkway and protect Little Glade Creek from negative impacts of development. Conservation of natural buffer land along creeks and streams preserves water quality and reduces flooding risks downstream. That is particularly important in the Yadkin River basin, a river system that supplies drinking water to almost one million downstream residents in 21 counties and 93 municipalities in North Carolina.

CTNC’s purchase of the property was made possible entirely by a generous price reduction offered by the sellers and a contribution from a North Carolina couple with a passion for the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

“Our family is very pleased to work with Conservation Trust to protect our property. Their work aligns with our hopes and vision for ensuring the land remains in its natural state. We are proud of the work the Conservation Trust is doing to use this land to extend the borders of the Blue Ridge Parkway, an amazingly beautiful road and a national treasure.”

Lynne Drewes

“CTNC’s Little Glade Creek project adjoins the Skunk Cabbage Wetland along the Blue Ridge Parkway,” added CTNC Executive Director Chris Canfield. “Ensuring this land will never be developed, logged or otherwise degraded augments the protection of this wetland that’s already provided by the National Park Service.”

Conservation Trust for North Carolina has now conserved 70 properties on the Blue Ridge Parkway, totaling 34,614 acres. Blue Ridge Conservancy and Piedmont Land Conservancy also conserve land in Alleghany County.

For additional information contact Director of Community Innovation Mary Alice Holley.

Asheville Watershed

CTNC Seeks Public Comments for Accreditation Renewal

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Conservation Trust for North Carolina is pleased to announce it is applying for renewal of its accreditation status. 

The Land Trust Alliance accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. CTNC became accredited in 2009 and successfully renewed its status in 2014.  We are now seeking renewal for a second time.

The Accreditation Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications.  Comments must relate to how Conservation Trust for North Carolina complies with national quality standards & practices.  These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust.  They are based on the following indicators:

About Land Trust Accreditation

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs.  Accreditation status is important to CTNC, as it strengthens our organization and fosters public trust in our work.

  • Responsible governance of the organization;
  • Protection of the public interest with sound and sustainable land transactions and stewardship;
  • Ethical operations;
  • Accountability to donors and the public; and,
  • Compliance with all laws, such as IRS Code §170(h) and §501(c)3.

Review the full list of standards.

To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org, or email your comment.  Comments may also be mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments: 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Comments on CTNC’s application will be most useful by February 24, 2020.

Bikes, Water & Conservation

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A group of young bikers engage in community, conversation and reflection along the Neuse River

If you can say you’ve biked 700 miles in 14 days, you’re in a pretty elite group. Last summer, 14 young adults accomplished that extraordinary feat as part of Triangle BikeWorks’  Spoke’n Revolutions “Bikes, Water & Soul” tour. Following the path of the Neuse River from its headwaters in Durham to the Atlantic coast, the teens explored some of our state’s robust natural resources ? as well as its complex cultural heritage for people of color.

A video celebrating the “Bikes, Water & Soul” tour and all the young riders who took part in the journey

Triangle Bikeworks, a group that encourages youth of color to build community and courage through cycling programs, ?collaborated with Conservation Trust for North Carolina and Triangle Land Conservancy to take teens on the trip of a lifetime. Along the way, riders visited historical sites and spaces preserved by North Carolina land trusts. They also reflected on the connection between land, water and community resilience. 

A Triangle Bikeworks rider sports an “I am Revolutionary” tee shirt to commemorate Spoken Revolutions and the bike tour.

The CTNC team was proud to work with the young riders and help empower them to protect the land and water in their local communities. We understand that, in order to serve all communities through land conservation, we must invest in the power of people. ??

Throughout the ride, the riders visited cultural and natural heritage sites along the Neuse River. They reflected on the complex relationships between land, water and people in the American south. 

Triangle Bikeworks riders learned about natural heritage along their journey.

Itza, a tour coordinator with Triangle Bikeworks, calls these types of trips “bike therapy.” ?☀️

“There’s a lot of reflecting,” she says, “And sometimes you’re processing things you didn’t even know you had to process.”

Cindy, a student who participated in the bike tour, says it was an experience in independence. 

“A lot of my life has been doing what other people expect of me, like taking AP classes or trying out some clubs that I’m not really interested in,” she said during the tour. “This is something I really want for myself.”

Coach Lisa, a volunteer with Triangle Bikeworks, put it best:

“You guys don’t even realize how amazing you are,” she told the team of students. “Nobody’s going to push you, nobody’s going to pull you. Every hill, every valley, you’re going to be by yourself.” 

The Spoke’n Revolutions tour is only the start. We’d love to keep you updated on future CTNC partnerships and collaborations through our emails. So what are you waiting for? Get your hands dirty!??‍♂️?

Discover Dog-Friendly Trails Near You

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The polls are in! You told us you wanted to explore North Carolina’s outdoors alongside your furry friends, and we listened.

CTNC worked with our land trust partners across North Carolina to create a map detailing all the greenways, trails, parks, and overlooks you should explore. Now that it’s spring, you won’t want to leave your dog behind! Access the map here and start discovering the dog-friendliest places near you.

Download the Map!

They’ve been waiting all winter for this…

Now is the time to get outside with your little guy or gal! The sun is coming out more, the birds are here to stay, and you actually have a bit of free time that you need to fill! Instead of doing “normal” things like going to the movies that wouldn’t allow you to bask in this sunshine (finally), go outside! You can’t let the perfect weather just pass you by unappreciated. You’ve also been going to work every day and not having as much time for your furry friends as you (and they) would like.

A walk would be nice, but you’re getting a little tired of the same neighborhood loop and the usual park is getting old as well. You’re ready for some new options and a little adventure.

We know just as well as the next person that your everyday routine gets a little dry… so just mix it up.

Grab a raft and float down the New River, just like Nikki and Levon from the Blue Ridge Conservancy!

Or, why not work on acclimating your new puppy to a leash by taking them to the half-mile trail at Jumpinoff Rock Park, located just a 30-minute drive from the heart of Boone? These locations and more are a click away.

Keep us posted along the way!

We want to see the different ways you’re recreating outdoors with your ?. Snap a photo of you and your dog (we know you’ve got plenty to choose from) at one of the locations on the map and post it to Instagram or Twitter using #ncdogsoutside for a chance to be featured by CTNC!

You know yourself better than we do – find how you like to get outside with your dog and don’t forget to keep us updated along the way!

Latest Project to Conserve Headwaters of Honeycutt Creek and the Blue Ridge Parkway

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UPDATE: In 2022, CTNC donated the Honeycutt Creek property to the National Park Service. This donation allows for the expansion of the Blue Ridge Parkway boundary and will be held in conservation protection in perpetuity.

Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) acquired a 12-acre tract adjoining the Blue Ridge Parkway on Bear Den Mountain Road. The property, known as Honeycutt Creek Cascades, augments recent protection of 208 acres purchased by Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina below Bear Den Overlook. The properties will be donated to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Blue Ridge Parkway.

CTNC’s Honeycutt Creek Headwaters property contains a scenic cascade in the headwaters of Honeycutt Creek in McDowell County. Permanent protection of this property protects the site of a scenic cascade and water quality further downstream in Honeycutt Creek and the North Fork Catawba River. CTNC has now protected twelve properties totaling more than 3,700 acres in the area around Altapass and North Cove between Linville and Little Switzerland along the Blue Ridge Parkway (milepost 319 to 330). In addition to the 208 acres below Bear Den Overlook, Foothills Conservancy has protected 127 acres in the area between Bear Den and Linville Falls.

“This beautiful property was on the market and could have easily been developed,” said CTNC Executive Director Chris Canfield. “We are grateful to Fred and Alice Stanback for providing the funds that enabled us to move quickly to protect the property.”

Conservation of the Honeycutt Creek Cascades property helps protect scenic views from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Bear Den Mountain Road near the popular Bear Den Campground. The property is visible from the Parkway near milepost 325.

Canfield added, “We’re also grateful to the Dispiter family for their commitment to land conservation and to Jann Godwin at Timberline Properties who helped broker the deal between CTNC and the landowner.”

“Our family has wonderful memories of camping on this property and enjoying the Blue Ridge Parkway and nearby attractions,” said Monica Pattison, a member of the Dispiter family.  “We are grateful to the Conservation Trust and Foothills Conservancy for helping us leave a lasting legacy for future generations.”

CTNC works with voluntary landowners along the Blue Ridge Parkway to protect streams, forests, farms, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat, parks, and trails. For more information on Blue Ridge Parkway land protection efforts visit:  www.ctnc.org/blue-ridge-parkway/ and  protecttheblueridgeparkway.org/.

1,000-Acre Conservation Project Promises Clean Water and Pristine Parkway Views

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Wildacres Retreat, a 1,076-acre property adjacent to Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway, is now permanently protected thanks to a collaborative partnership among Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC), and Wildacres Retreat.

Wildacres Retreat, located in northern McDowell County near Little Switzerland, is a nonprofit conference center governed by a board of directors. The center offers its facilities and surrounding woodlands to nonprofit groups for educational and cultural programming, and for board and staff retreats.

The property is protected under two conservation easements. A state-held Clean Water Management Trust Fund easement will protect stream buffers and critical natural heritage areas, while a second easement held by Conservation Trust for North Carolina will preserve a key portion of forested lands connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest. Together, the easements will safeguard wildlife habitat and protect water quality in five miles of streams of the Armstrong Creek watershed in the headwaters of the Catawba River.  Foothills Conservancy will monitor and steward these conservation easements on a contractual basis.

“Protection of these lands fills in a very important piece of the puzzle to permanently conserve extensive forests and habitats in the very high-quality Armstrong Creek watershed of the Catawba,” said Tom Kenney, Land Protection Director for Foothills Conservancy. “Wildacres adjoins a Wildlife Resources Commission fish hatchery and more than 10,000 acres of federal Pisgah National Forest Service lands. All this conservation helps ensure Lake James has a very clean water supply protection source.”

There are nearly six miles of hiking trails on the property for public use, including one trail into the property from Deer Lick Gap Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The project was primarily funded by a $1 million grant from North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund awarded to Foothills Conservancy and a $26,000 donation from Philip Blumenthal, director of Wildacres Retreat. In addition, CTNC secured a Duke Water Resources grant, $50,000 grant from the Cannon Foundation, a $100,000 grant from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office Environmental Enhancement Grant Program, and $177,240 from the Open Space Institute’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative, which is made possible with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Resilient Landscapes Initiative seeks to build the capacity of land trusts working to respond to climate change. A grant of $34,779 from the Duke Energy Water Resources Fund, administered by the NC Community Foundation enabled CTNC to pay off a loan secured to purchase the easements.

Clean Water Management Trust Fund Executive Director Walter Clark described the organization’s reasons for contributing to the project to conserve what he calls an “incredible piece of property.”

“The Clean Water Management Trust Fund supported the Wildacres project for multiple reasons, including its protection of five miles of high-quality trout waters, which contain headwater streams in the Catawba River Basin,” said Clark. “The project also protects multiple forest communities important to North Carolina’s natural heritage.” Since its establishment in 1996, Clean Water Management Trust Fund has protected over 500,000 acres, including 2,500 miles of streams.

“The Wildacres Retreat property has been among CTNC and Foothills Conservancy’s highest priority projects for years,” said Rusty Painter, CTNC Land Protection Director. “Conserving its ecologically diverse habitat between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest achieves the type of landscape-scale conservation that’s one goal of our Blue Ridge Parkway conservation plan. Successes like this would not be possible without the commitment of champions like Philip Blumenthal and the Wildacres Retreat Board of Directors.”

Blumenthal added, “It’s been a long-term goal of the Blumenthal family to ensure the ecological integrity of this unique property for the benefit of Wildacres Retreat visitors and all who enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway. We’re fortunate to have land trusts like CTNC and Foothills Conservancy who work tirelessly to save places we all love in North Carolina. They ensure our state’s most valuable assets will be protected forever.”

“Permanent conservation of the Wildacres property marks a major milestone for the protection of habitat in North Carolina,” said Peter Howell, OSI’s Executive Vice President of Conservation Capital & Research Programs. “As the climate changes, this highly resilient property will provide a long-term haven for sensitive plants and animals. The Open Space Institute is proud to have supported this project and we applaud Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina for their collaboration and tireless work to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Federally-protected land in this region is fragmented and thousands of acres are still vulnerable to development. Western North Carolina land trusts frequently partner to preserve National Forest and Blue Ridge Parkway lands for the benefit of all North Carolinians.

For more information, contact:

Tom Kenney, Land Protection Director, Ph: 828-437-9930, tkenney@foothillsconservancy.org

Mary Alice Holley, CTNC Communications Director, Ph: 919-864-0428, mholley@ctnc.org

See what others are saying!

Revitalizing Redlair: Haywood Rankin’s lifework

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North Carolina is fortunate to have a strong network of 22 local land trusts, community-based nonprofits that have compiled an impressive record of land protection; NC land trusts have conserved nearly 429,000 acres in 2,750 locations across our state. CTNC promotes, assists, and represents our local land trust partners so they can preserve more conservation lands in the communities and build greater awareness and support for conservation.

On a sunny day in June, the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the Catawba Lands Conservancy took a visit to Redlair Preserve located in Gaston County, NC. The preserve is maintained by Haywood Rankin and his wife Sabine, and has belonged to his family for generations.

Haywood’s grandfather first purchased land to grow cotton – a fraction of the expansive property now known as Redlair Preserve. In addition to the family’s old barn, Redlair consists of hundreds of acres of barely-touched forest.

Rankin knows this forest better than any map can tell you, leading visitors through the trees and topography without any hesitation.

While hiking with Haywood and his two dogs, he discusses the Preserve and its significance as a prized and truly natural space and how its’ proximity to Charlotte makes it truly unique.

The Rankin property sits on the South Fork of the Catawba River with Spencer Mountain to the West. It has become a hotspot for plant conservationists to study, as its location creates the perfect environment for two federally-endangered plants to thrive: the Bigleaf Magnolia and the Schweinitz Sunflower. The leaves of even the smallest of the Magnolias live up to their name, measuring about two-thirds of an arm’s length.

But Redlair was not always a spacious untouched nature preserve. When Haywood’s grandfather purchased what was only a small piece of Redlair, there were several other family farms built across the property. Haywood pointed out several locations in the forest where the farming practices of clear-cutting and plowing still remain and how to spot the new growth forest through the species of trees.

Every once in a while you’ll spot a small sign marker with two or three numbers indicating the directions of different trail combinations. As we walked, Haywood cleared the path ahead of us stopping occasionally to move big sticks or logs and even pull up a few invasive plants. Haywood is in a constant ongoing war with several species throughout his property, from Chinese privet to Japanese Stiltgrass.

It is hard to believe that such a space exists so close to urban sprawl. Though Redlair isn’t open to the public, Haywood will occasionally offer guided hikes as well as a tour of the magnolias during their blooming season.

Redlair Preserve is now owned by the State of North Carolina and is one of just 18 state plant conservation preserves in our state, which provides the highest level of protection for a property. Catawba Lands Conservancy holds a conservation easement on the property.

To find out more about this collaboration with Catawba Lands Conservancy and Haywood’s efforts to preserve this expansive property, watch our latest video!

Triangle Farms for Food Strategy + Action Plan Provides Road Map for Farmland Preservation and Local Food Economy

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Click Here to Download the Triangle Farms For Food: Strategy + Action Plan.

The market for fresh local food continues to grow in the Triangle region, but development pressures on existing farms and the lack of access to farmland for new farmers are major barriers to increasing local food production. There is a critical need to protect farmland to provide long-term food security for all Triangle residents.

The Conservation Trust and its partners have completed a regional farmland preservation and agricultural economic development strategy for the Triangle. With grant support from the Triangle Community Foundation and Sustainable Foods NC, CTNC has published, “Triangle Farms for Food: Strategy + Action Plan.”

Click here to download the full report and additional supporting materials.

Partners

In addition to the Triangle Community Foundation and Sustainable Foods NC, partners included Community Food Lab, Triangle Land Conservancy, Eno River Association, Center for Environmental Farming Systems and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. The overall goals of the partners are to protect existing farmland and keep it in production, support existing and beginning farmers, advance agricultural awareness and build a strong local food economy in the region.

Strategy

The strategy covers Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake Counties. These five counties combined have lost more than 63,500 acres of farmland since 1997. The strategy uses Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to prioritize farmland for protection in the five-county region. The criteria for prioritizing rural farmland included prime soils, agricultural land cover, farm size, proximity to protected farmland, development pressure and distance to markets.  The strategy also prioritizes smaller farms in proximity to urban areas and food deserts that can serve as the focal point for farmland preservation and urban agricultural development.

Impact

The report identifies 788 parcels consisting of more than 50,000 acres of farmland in rural areas and 65 parcels consisting of more than 850 acres in urban areas as high priority farmland. Based on the GIS data and feedback from stakeholders throughout the region, the project partners developed six place-based strategies and six regional strategies to promote farmland preservation and agricultural economic development across the Triangle.

The Conservation Trust will continue working with partners in the region to implement the strategy and three-year action plan to achieve our collective vision: active, productive, and economically-viable farms are common sights throughout the Triangle’s rural and urban landscapes, contributing to sustainable communities and a resilient regional food system.

This post was co-authored by Edgar Miller, Government Relations Director and Caitlin Burke, Special Projects and Grants Coordinator. To learn more about Triangle Farms for Food click here. 

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