The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority awarded $13.5 million in grants to 41 local governments for parks and recreation projects, from a field 86 grant applicants requesting more than $27 million.

The matching grants from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund help to fund land acquisition, development and renovation of public park and recreation areas. Local communities benefit greatly from the new parks, trails, greenways and recreational facilities that provide both environmental stewardship and economic opportunity.

A complete listing of the grant recipients are posted at http://www.partf.net/2006.htm

The trustees of the Natural Heritage Trust Fund held their semi-annual meeting April 19-20, 2006, in Raleigh. The trustees passed a resolution supporting Land for Tomorrow, a partnership of organizations, local governments, and individuals, which have identified a funding gap for land conservation. In a separate resolution, funds would be set aside for monitoring easements that are awarded through the grant program, working with DENR’s new Stewardship Program to perform the monitoring.

The Nature Conservancy presented an overview of the International Paper land acquisition, which includes prime landscapes along the Chowan, Roanoke and Upper Tar rivers, as well as Juniper Creek. The Nature Conservancy has a contract to purchase 79,563 acres spanning 11 counties for approximately $80 million. Much of this land will eventually be sold to the state for game lands using funds from Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, Clean Water Management Trust Fund and Natural Heritage Trust Fund.

During their spring cycle, the trustees awarded 16 grants, worth more than $14 million, to the four eligible state agencies.

The Department of Cultural Resources received three grants totaling more than $840,000 for the following land acquisition projects:

• To continue historic preservation at the nationally significant Bentonville Battlefield Civil War site.
• For additional protection of the scenic and historic open pastures and woodland of the Valle Crucis Historic District.
• For preservation of a surviving section of Civil War-era earthworks, built to protect the Wilmington-Weldon railroad. 

Wildlife Resources Commission received more than $5 million for three projects, including:

• Almost $4 million was awarded for the purchase of the final phase of Angola Bay, a 14,825-acre pocosin habitat area.
• Two grants were for tracts along the Pee Dee River corridor for future game lands. The river corridor contributes to a network of conservation areas, and it will protect regionally significant natural areas and several rare species.

Four grants totaling more than $5.5 million were awarded to the State Division of Parks and Recreation, including:

• A grant for $2 million to acquire 1.5 miles of undeveloped shoreline property along the New River that will be incorporated into the New River State Park. This property contains aquatic habitat considered significant in North Carolina.
• The Sandy Run Conservation Land grant of $1 million, which will be used to protect three significant tracts within the highest priority conservation corridor identified by the Onslow Bight Conservation Forum.
• The Sugar Mountain grant of $1.2 million to preserve a large portion of the Sugar Mountain significant natural habitat area, including all three distinct bog areas present.
• A $1.3 million grant, which will be used with previous grants to purchase land for Hickory Nut Gorge State Park.

The Plant Conservation Program with the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services received more than $2.6 million for six projects to establish or expand rare plant preserves. The money went to fund:

• A new preserve to protect the Sandhills lily, a globally rare and endangered species in Moore County.
• Acquisition of a significant private holding within the Tater Hill preserve in Watauga County.
• Purchase of key property for a federally-endangered plant in Durham.

The next meeting will be Oct. 24-25 at Lake Lure. Visit the Web site at www.ncnhtf.org for agenda and directions. Past meeting minutes and copies of the resolutions are also posted on the Web site. For more information, call Lisa Riegel at (919) 715-8014.

Clean Water Management Trust Fund is celebrating 10 years of preserving, conserving and protecting North Carolina's water resources. On August 3, 1996, the General Assembly of North Carolina approved landmark legislation creating the state's Clean Water Management Trust Fund in response to the public outcry over the polluted condition of the Neuse River. In the last 10 years, CWMTF has awarded nearly $600 million in water quality improvement and protection grants for projects all across the state.

CWMTF receives a direct appropriation from the General Assembly to issue grants to local governments, state agencies and conservation non-profits to help finance projects that specifically address water pollution problems. The 21-member, independent CWMTF Board of Trustees has full responsibility over the allocation of moneys from the Fund. CWMTF will fund projects that enhance or restore degraded waters, protect unpolluted waters, and/or contribute toward a network of buffer area and greenways for environmental, educational, and recreational benefits.

In the last ten years, CWMTF has:

• Protected more than 317,529 acres and 3,612 miles of stream and waterside buffers.
• Invested more than $338.3 million in 331 projects to help local governments, state agencies, and land trusts acquire both conservation easements and land to protect buffers, floodplains and wetlands - from Lake Logan in Haywood County to Bird Island in Brunswick County.
• Leveraged more than $906 million in private and other public funds.
• Invested a total of $12.3 million in clean water/military base encroachment protection projects in 2005.
• Assisted 142 local government agencies with wastewater treatment improvements.
• Funded 102 stream and wetlands restoration projects totaling $63.8 million.
• Funded 49 stormwater management projects totaling $36.9 million.
• Funded key land acquisitions to help protect water quality across the state, including funding the purchase of DuPont State Forest, the expansion of Lake James State Park, and Springer's Point on Ocracoke Island.

In 2005, the North Carolina legislature included $100 million for the CWMTF in its state budget, marking the first time the program received its full level of funding. This year, full funding was included in state budgets prepared by the Senate, the House and Governor Mike Easley.

A CWMTF fact sheet is available on line at http://www.cwmtf.net/. For more information, contact Lisa Schell,
(919) 716-0057.