North Carolina Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure is defined as "a strategically planned and managed network of wilderness, parks, greenways, conservation easements, and working lands with conservation value that supports native species, maintains natural ecological processes, sustains air and water resources, and contributes to the health and quality of life for America’s communities and people." Benedict and McMahon

Much work that supports Green Infrastructure is underway in North Carolina:

Green Infrastructure Models in the US. Forest Service Southern Region

This report was produced by the Green Infrastructure Center (GIC) for the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service. The report reviews the use of green infrastructure planning models at the state scale. This report discusses several state-level green infrastructure planning models and documents whether and how they have been used to inform local planning. Featured North Carolina planning efforts include the Natural Heritage Program Conservation Planning Tool, Wildlife Resources Green Growth Toolbox, and Linking Lands and Communities in the Land-of-Sky Region.

Green Infrastructure Success Stories

The Scuppernong River Preserve
at
Pettigrew State Park

The Scuppernong River was the main source for transporting logs, crops and other products to market and importing staples for every day living during the European settlement. Except for the town of Columbia and several landings, the river remained undeveloped. In 2002, The Nature Conservancy approached the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation about preserving the river. The Conservancy owned four large tracts on the river and three large tracts were for sale. They proposed that if state parks purchased the three large tracts, The Nature Conservancy would give their tracts to the park. Thus the Scuppernong River section of Pettigrew State Park began in 2004.

Pettigrew is in the middle of the Pamlico/Albemarle peninsula, which is North Carolina’s least populated area. As a result, the park lies in the midst of one of the state's largest wildlife populations. One of the last old growth forests in eastern North Carolina lines the northern shore of Lake Phelps. Beautiful examples of natural communities line the Scuppernong River, which makes for an exceptional paddling experience. Pettigrew State Park is an ideal blend of nature, history and recreation. The park boasts more than 1,300 acres of land around Lake Phelps, more than 3,000 acres along the Scuppernong River and 16,600 acres of water,

Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve

Located largely within the incorporated limits of the town that is its namesake, the Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve is the result of a collaborative partnership between the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services' Plant Conservation Program, The Nature Conservancy, the city of Boiling Spring Lakes and the N.C. Natural Heritage Program. The land is owned by the Plant Conservation Program and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and is managed in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy.

In an average natural area, there are eight to 10 species of plants growing in one square meter, but in the wetlands of Boiling Spring Lakes there are several times that number! A bounty of rare flora and fauna is found in this landscape, including the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, a variety of carnivorous plants, rough-leaf loosestrife and a variety of orchids. The preserve contains more than 400 vascular plant species, including carnivorous plants such as the rare Venus flytrap. Completed in 2004, the Boiling Spring Lakes Nature Trail allows visitors to walk through a portion of the more than 6,000 fragile acres of the preserve.

Grandfather Mountain

In 2008, Gov. Mike Easley announced that the state would acquire 2,601 acres on Grandfather Mountain to become North Carolina's newest state park. Under an agreement with Grandfather Mountain Inc., the state parks system will acquire the undeveloped portion of the famous tourist destination as well as an easement on 604 acres that will be retained by the heirs of Hugh Morton. The purchase price is $12 million. The Morton family will continue to operate the Grandfather Mountain attraction through a nonprofit organization supported by funding from the sale.

Aside from being one of the signature landmarks in our state, Grandfather Mountain is a premier natural resource, boasting 16 distinct ecological communities and 73 rare species and is an International Biosphere Reserve.

The Conservation Tax Credit program significantly reduced the purchase price to the state for Grandfather Mountain, due to the donation of easements over a number of years. The saving to the state was over $21 million.

Powdermill Creek tract
in Avery County

In October of 2007, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy completed a bargain sale transaction on the 435-acre Powdermill Creek tract in Avery County. The parcel is a high-priority area for fish and wildlife conservation and watershed protection, as it contains nearly 2.5 miles of headwater streams -- including 1.4 miles of Powdermill Creek -- that feed to the North Toe River. The North Toe River provides habitat for trout and endangered aquatic species. The Powdermill Creek tract is also located within the nationally significant Roan Mountain Massif natural area.

The State of North Carolina will hold an easement on the property, as money from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and other sources were used to acquire a conservation easement that protects riparian buffers and restricts development and timber activity on the parcel. The landowners donated the remaining fee interest in the property to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, who will own and manage it as a preserve.

A bargain sale is the sale of land or interests in land at a price below its appraised market value. The donated fee property interest in this case is the “bargain sale,” and the donors are eligible for the tax credit on this contributed portion of the transaction. The conservation tax credit can thus be used to leverage conservation funding, helping make limited resources go further. Because our resources for conservation are limited, conservation frequently depends on landowners who love their land, and want to see it protected for future generations. We appreciate the contribution such owners make to the conservation of North Carolina’s natural resources.