Preservation Reports
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Executive Summary
As the new home of NCPIRG's environmental work,
Environment North Carolina can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.
North Carolina is full of
unique places. Residents and tourists flock to see historic sites, hike in the
western mountains, visit state parks, and enjoy beautiful beaches. From sites
of Native American settlements to the Smoky Mountains, from the Eno River State
Park to the Outer Banks, there are special places across the state for families,
nature lovers, and history buffs alike. Yet North Carolina’s farmlands, urban
green spaces, wetlands, and wild places are disappearing at the sixth-fastest
rate in the nation. Thirty-four percent of North Carolina’s coastal wetlands
have been so altered that they no longer adequately protect water quality. With
North Carolina’s population projected to grow from 7.8 million in 2000 to 8.8
million in 2015, the pressure for new development – and the loss of open space
that comes with it – is likely to continue.
To preserve waterways, wetlands,
and forests in North Carolina, the state government has set up four trust funds
to guarantee ongoing funding for preservation projects. Over the past 14 years,
the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF), the Natural Heritage Trust Fund
(NHTF), the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), and the Farmland Preservation
Trust Fund (FPTF) have funded 1,298 projects. These projects have provided permanent
protection for almost 300,000 acres of land and waterways, as well as protection
for important historic sites. In 2000, the General Assembly established a goal
of preserving one million acres of North Carolina’s open space by 2010, and
designated these natural resource trust funds to help the state keep its promise.
Unfortunately, the state
is behind on its goal. Today, the Environmental Finance Center estimates that
North Carolina must increase funding for open space preservation by $176 million
each year to meet its goal of preserving one million acres.
However, even existing funding
for these programs is in jeopardy, as lawmakers debate funding levels for the
four natural resource trust funds. For example, House budget writers have proposed
funding for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund that is as low as 25% of that
required by law.
This report highlights the
degree to which demand for preserving the state’s disappearing open spaces outweighs
availability in the trust funds. Among the findings of the report:
• At least 57 proposed projects
involving at least 30,000 acres of open space, have not received funding from
the CWMTF and PARTF – and may never receive funding – due to the relatively
small amount of money available to the funds.
Among the open spaces that
have already been lost, or could be lost, due to reduced preservation funding
are:
• Town Creek. The
NC Coastal Land Trust is requesting CWMTF funds to purchase land that would
establish 30,000 linear feet of buffers on Town Creek. Town Creek is a Natural
Heritage Program Area of Significance and is identified as priority in the Riparian
Corridor Plan.
• The Moss Farm in Stanly County near the Yadkin River. This farm is especially
important to the community because it is a scenic buffer to Camp Barnhart, a
1,000-acre lakefront Boy Scout camp on Badin Lake. In an effort to preserve
his family’s farm, Mr. Moss hoped to sell a conservation easement on his land
rather than selling it to developers. Regrettably, funding was not available
from the FPTF, and Mr. Moss had little choice but to put his farm up for sale
in March.
• Little Sugar Creek. This consists of 90 riparian acres in Mecklenburg County
that are under heavy development pressure. The creek is currently listed as
"impaired" under the Clean Water Act, and further development would do significant
damage to the Catawba Riparian Restoration Plan.
To protect these and other
natural places, it is necessary for North Carolina to fully fund the trust funds
and to create new dedicated sources of funding for land acquisitions. Without
money to cover the costs of land acquisitions and conservation easements, the
state’s goal of preserving one million acres will be unreachable.
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