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One Million Acres to Be Protected In North Carolina


urbanaturalist

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Great news for Cumberland County and the sandhills. Hopefully, more counties will mirror this effort. Its surprising coming from a military town that sits on I-95 that they would be at the forefront, only because the "old school" developers and politicians would seemingly rather see more subdivisions and golf courses on those farm lands for retirees and newcomers.

Montgomery County, MD has an agricultural reserve in the northern portion of the county meaning that development is severely limited. They have working farms and farmers markets with locals using the land to horse back ride, bringing kids to the farms, etc. Basically, holding on to the agricultural past in the present, but making it profitable as well This is the most populous county in Maryland with 1 million people and still growing, UPWARDS mostly now.

Granted Cumberland County doesn't have a rail system like Montgomery, but the idea is still valid. Protect the land because unbridled capitalism doesn't really give a crap about agricultural or forest preservation. Hoefully, the agricultural preservation and wilderness preservation will get more funding from the General Assembly.

Hopefully, other counties will see the light and start working together to maybe link their agricultural and forest areas...........I know ..... I know.......wishful thinking for North Carolina.

ONLY 99 MORE COUNTIES TO GO! :lol:

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  • 5 weeks later...

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Mecklenburg County voters approved bonds today that included $31.6 million to buy more undeveloped space for public recreation and nature protection and to help protect the cleanliness of Mountain Island Lake. An additional $2.4 million will go to buy more land for greenways.

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Duke Energy has purchased 2,600 acres from Crescent Resources along the Johns River in Burke County (the Johns feeds into the Catawba) and has agreed to sell the land to the state for conservation. Add that to the 3,800 acres the state just purchased next to it and it amounts to 10 square miles of river and forests that will remain untouched by developers hands. Duke also agreed to protect 100-foot-wide strips along 22 miles of the Catawba, the Johns, and the Linville River. Of course, all of this is contingent on the state approving Duke's hydroelectric renewal application but this is a wonderful opportunity for conservation.

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The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has purchased 410 acres in Avery County for $1.9 million. Specifically, they saved two areas in the Roaring Creek Valley which has scenic views of Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge and Big Yellow Mountain along with scores of rare plants.

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Conservation groups and the state are attempting to negotiate the purchase of 1,800 acres of land in Lansing. It is a Christmas tree farm and is called Pine Knob. It is in the extreme NW corner of the state and the top of Pond Mountain is a 5,000-foot-high, relatively flat open ridge that offers a 360-degree view of peaks and wilderness in three states: Mount Jefferson, Three Top Mountain, Elk Knob, Grandfather Mountain and Sugar Mountain in North Carolina; Virginia's White Top Mountain, the Jefferson National Forest, Grayson Highlands and Mount Rogers, Virginia's highest peak; and to the west, the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee (from The Winston-Salem Journal).

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There's a really good article in yesterday's Observer about the effects of air pollution on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had heard it was bad at times but some of the things they say are amazing and actually sad. Apparently, ozone levels are some of the highest in the East, with readings on the ridgetops up to twice those of Knoxville and Atlanta. I wish a national news agency/magazine would pick up on this and make it a well known campaign.

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