RANDOLPH COUNTY, NC (July 22, 2019) — With support from the Open Space Institute (OSI), another property near a scenic creek is now permanently protected in central North Carolina. With its protection, the land can continue to provide a refuge for plants and animals, even as the climate changes.
With mature hardwood forest and habitat for rare species, the 250-acre property possesses over a half-mile of frontage on Poison Fork Creek, considered an “outstanding resource water” — the highest water-quality designation in the State of North Carolina. The property’s protection also helps to build upon and maintain an important wildlife corridor, thanks to its proximity to the Uwharrie National Forest.
OSI supported protection of the land, via a conservation easement completed by Three Rivers Land Trust, through its Southeast Resilient Landscapes Fund, which is capitalized with a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Fund protects “climate-resilient” lands — places that are likely to provide habitat for sensitive plants and animals, even as the climate changes.
“OSI is proud to have supported the protection of this outstanding project, which provides a critical buffer to Uwharrie National Forest and demonstrates the important of protecting land for wildlife facing an uncertain future,” said Peter Howell, executive Vice President at OSI. “We applaud the Three Rivers Land Trust for their work on this project and for their continued commitment to protection across this landscape.”
Since its creation in 2013, OSI’s Southeast Resilient Landscapes Initiative has approved grants for 28 projects which are on target to protect 29,000 acres in the Southeast. Protection of this newest tract builds on another climate-resilient property that OSI protected along Poison Fork Creek in 2018.
In addition to OSI, Fred and Alice Stanback and Three Rivers Land Trust members provided funding for this conservation easement.