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 historical
Native American sites 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 that have provided permanent protection
for almost 300,000 acres of land and waterways. The funds have also protected
some of our important historic sites.
Much more remains to be
done. The Environmental Finance Center at UNC Chapel Hill has estimated that
in order to meet North Carolina's goal of protecting one million acres of open
space by 2009, funding for open space preservation must increase by approximately
$125 million each year between now and 2010.
However even existing funding
for these programs is in jeopardy. In February 2002, Governor Easley cut the
budgets of all four trust funds. The results were immediate: the CWMTF and FPTF
had to reduce or delay funding for projects that had already been promised funding.
The PARTF and NHTF were suddenly unable to fund as many projects as they had
anticipated.
As a result of these budget
cuts and the uncertain prospects for future funding, dozens of beautiful open
spaces in North Carolina are already at serious risk of development.
• At least sixty-five proposed
projects have not received funding from the CWMTF, NHTF, and PARTF—and
may never receive funding—due to the reduced amount of money available
to the funds.
• Thirteen projects that
were promised funding by CWMTF will now have to wait until more resources are
available.
Among the open spaces that
have already been lost, or could be lost, due to reduced preservation funding
are:
• The wetland forest and
marshes of Roanoke Island, which provide habitat for numerous mammals, reptiles,
and amphibians, including the green tree frog. Developers are planning to build
a marina and multiunit housing development on a 46-acre tract of land on the
west coast on the Croatan Sound. As a result of the February funding cut, funding
promised by the CWMTF is not available to protect this area from development
and the land is still unprotected.
• The Biggerstaff Mountain
tract in Rutherford County. There are several endangered plant species on the
acreage, including the white irisette, which can only be found in three counties
in North Carolina. Because there was no funding available to assist in acquisition
of the land, the tract has been purchased by developers and is lost to future
preservation efforts.
• 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. Hoping to preserve his family's farm, Mr. Moss wanted to
sell a conservation easement on his land rather than selling it to developers.
But funding is not available from the FPTF, and Mr. Moss had little choice but
to put his farm up for sale in March.
To protect these and other
natural places, it is necessary for North Carolina to restore funding to the
trust funds and to create new dedicated sources of funding for land acquisitions.
Without funding to cover the costs of land acquisitions and conservation easements,
the state's goal of preserving a million acres will be unreachable.
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