One NC Naturally
Partnerships in Conservation
Quarterly Electronic Newsletter
Office of Conservation and Community Affairs
Fall 2004

Key Conservation Projects for 2004

Clean Water Management Trust Fund Projects

The $15.9 billion state budget approved by the North Carolina General Assembly includes $62 million for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund for the 2004-05 fiscal year. “Once again, members of the North Carolina legislature have shown their commitment to keeping our state's water resources clean," said CWMTF Executive Director Bill Holman. Among the projects recently funded through CWMTF:
Phase Three of Voluntary Floodplain Swine Buyout Program
The CWMTF has awarded the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Division of Soil and Water Conservation a $3.87 million grant to fund the third phase of the state’s voluntary floodplain swine buyout program.

The program, which first received CWMTF funding in 1999, removes high-risk swine production operations from the 100-year floodplain and reduces potential hazard from future floods while keeping the land in agricultural use. The swine buyout program has enjoyed great support from the industry, environmental interests and members of the General Assembly.

“This voluntary program offers effective solutions to challenges facing landowners on eastern North Carolina’s working lands,” said DENR Secretary Bill Ross. “Our state’s water resources are protected while the land involved remains in use in an agricultural capacity.”

A $5.7 million CWMTF grant was awarded for the first phase of the program in 1999 and another $6.1 million grant for phase II of the program was funded in 2002. As a result of the program, 22 swine operations in the 100-year floodplain have been bought out, decommissioning 34 waste treatment lagoons in the process. Buyout for another eight operations under the second phase is ongoing.
Preservation of the Woodfin Watershed
On Oct. 15, the Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer District, the Southern
Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the CWMTF and its partners
celebrated the purchase of a conservation easement on 1,900 acres on
the Woodfin Watershed, made possible by a $4.1 million dollar grant from
the CWMTF and a $500,000 donation from Fred and Alice Stanback.
The purchase will permanently protect the watershed at the headwaters
of Reems Creek from future logging and development and safeguard the
water supply for nearly 10,000 people in Woodfin, Asheville and Buncombe County. The area is one of the largest remaining intact watersheds in western North Carolina. The conservation easement also will provide a protective buffer for nearby National Forest and National Park Service lands.

Expansion of Lake James State Park
Crescent Resources LLC has agreed to sell approximately 3,000 acres of property on Lake James in Burke County to the state of North Carolina for the expansion of Lake James State Park. According to independent appraisals by both Crescent Resources LLC and the State Property Office, the per-acre appraised value is $10,500 with the agreed value of $30.6 million for the entire parcel. A one-time gift from Crescent Resources LLC valued at $12.25 million will allow the state to purchase the property for $18.36 million this year. On this basis, Crescent Resources LLC and the state of North Carolina have finalized a contract for sale.

In the past 10 years, money for land acquisition for state parks has come from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, which is supported by the state’s tax on real estate deed transfers. The portion of that trust fund set aside for land acquisition reached $7 million in 2004, the highest amount ever, but far below the contract price for the Lake James property.

Legislation approved in the 2004 session of the N.C. General Assembly (HB 1264) allows the state to issue certificates of participation (COPs) – a financing instrument similar to bonds – for up to $20 million this year for state parks projects. The PARTF approved the use of COPs to fund PARTF's portion ($11,081,000) of the Lake James State Park expansion at its quarterly meeting Oct. 25, 2004 in Brevard. The CWMTF has formally approved the use of COPs for designated projects. In November the CWMTF will consider the use of COPs for its portion ($6.9 million) of the Lake James State Park Expansion. The Natural Heritage Trust Fund (NHTF) also approved the use of COPs ($2,019,000) at its Sept. 30, 2004, meeting for acquisition of the Linville gameland tract adjacent to the Pisgah National Forest.

Lake James, located in Burke and McDowell counties, is the first lake along the 300-mile Catawba River chain. The future park expansion site is located on the north side of the lake where the Linville River joins the Catawba River. The site includes sections known locally as Long Arm and Paddy’s Creek. With close to 24 miles of lake frontage, these sections provide scenic views of the Linville Gorge, Shortoff Mountain and other distinguishing peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

  • The acquisition will mean protection of an additional 30 miles of Lake James’ shoreline, thereby helping to safeguard water quality and contributing to the region’s “green infrastructure” that includes the Pisgah National Forest, the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The property also includes 23,000 linear feet of feeder streams.
  • The potential for additional recreation opportunities is obvious on the subject property with its extensive shoreline and scenic views. Currently, the division’s planners are evaluating its potential for a network of hiking trails, family campgrounds, backcountry campsites, canoe/kayak areas, and swim beaches.
  • The expanded state park could also become a junction point for three principal trail systems – the state’s Mountains-To-Sea Trail, the National Park Service’s Over Mountain Historic Victory Trail, and the Linville Gorge Wilderness Trails.

“Significant time and effort have gone into developing an overall plan that creates a regional economic driver for the Lake James region,” said Troy Lucas, Crescent’s Lake James project manager. “Expanding the state park at Lake James is a key component in that plan and today’s announcement is clearly good news for this area.”

The overall plan is the result of two years of intensive planning discussions between Crescent and interested stakeholders, including officials from Burke and McDowell counties, the business and development communities, the Foothills Conservancy, the Citizens to Save Lake James, the Lake James Task Force, and the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented the interests of the Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups.

“This addition will immediately move Lake James State Park into a new class in terms of recreation potential and conservation of natural resources,” said Lewis Ledford, director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. “Perhaps the most gratifying aspect about the acquisition is the example of true partnership among the state parks system, a corporate entity, the conservation community and local government.”
Duke OKs Pact to Preserve Forest
Duke University has signed an agreement with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to place 1,220 acres of Duke Forest in the Registry of Natural Heritage Areas. Landowners who place their land in the registry make a voluntary, nonbinding commitment to preserve their natural areas. Duke's agreement says the university intends to maintain the forest for the perpetuation of natural processes, natural communities and rare species populations. The Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory comprises 7,025 acres of land, occupying six tracts in Durham, Orange and Alamance counties. It is administered by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke.

"This registry agreement gives formal recognition for something Duke has been doing for many years," said Judson Edeburn, Duke Forest resource manager. " It further demonstrates our commitment to good stewardship of our most significant natural areas."

The 1,220 acres now registered include Couch Mountain, Bald Mountain, Blackwood Mountain and Stony Creek Spring. Slopes along the Eno River and New Hope Creek also are registered, as are the forest's rare Piedmont meadow flats, among other sites.

Duke Forest has been managed to provide research and teaching opportunities since its establishment in 1931. Active management, including the harvesting of timber stands, and passive management, in the form of reserving areas for observation of natural processes, have been equally important in enhancing the forest's academic and natural values, Edeburn said. "Registering these significant natural areas with the Natural Heritage Program underscores their importance not only for the biological diversity they contain, but also for the long-term research opportunities they provide," he said. "This helps ensure our ability to meet the forest's academic mission."

Enrolling the land in the registry will preserve some of Duke Forest's most scenic and ecologically significant areas for the enjoyment and education of future generations, said Linda Pearsall, program head of the N.C. Natural Heritage Program. "We hope that other colleges and universities will follow the example Duke sets."