Trudging along a path through a thickly forested tract just north of Lords Creek, Gilbert Burnett stopped and chuckled.

He said his dad - armed with a fried-egg sandwich, banana and a Pepsi - loved traipsing through the property, which the family owned even before there was a River Road.

Burnett, a retired chief judge in New Hanover and Pender counties, said his father would have wanted to see the lush area of southern New Hanover County, just a stone's throw from the Cape Fear River, protected for future generations.

In one of the fastest-growing corners of New Hanover County, Burnett and his family have decided to choose trees over maximizing the other green. Soon the general public also could be enjoying the site's wild azaleas and blueberries.

"We did think about developing it, but we abandoned those plans," Burnett said. "We just started remembering how much daddy enjoyed walking through here, and all the good time we had here also."

The family has decided to spurn interest from developers and instead sell the nearly 109-acre property to the N.C. Coastal Land Trust.

The land-preservation group intends to turn around and give the property to New Hanover County as the site for a passive park, with plans for trails, picnic areas and canoe and kayak access to Lords Creek.

"That's just fine with us," Burnett said, motioning to the tree- and grass-filled wetlands that line the creek's banks and are a playground for egrets, herons and ospreys. "We want to see it stay just as natural as possible."

Along with providing recreational opportunities, keeping the property undeveloped would provide additional buffering along the creek, which is starting to see water quality problems as development encroaches.

"These kind of opportunities don't come along very often, especially in New Hanover County," said Camilla Herlevich, executive director of the Land Trust, as the sound of heavy equipment clearing nearby land for homes echoed through the forest. "We're just real glad they were willing to partner and be patient with us."

The deal took nearly four years to come together. It is being funded through a grant of almost $1 million from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

According to the grant application, the property had a market value of $1.345 million in 2004. The value has probably gone up substantially since then.

The Land Trust is selling the land to the county for $10. But it also is asking for $30,000 to cover legal fees, which would be drawn from the parks bonds approved by voters last year.

The New Hanover County Commissioners will vote on the property purchase today.

Room for the

'deer and foxes'

Burnett said the family knows it is leaving money on the table by not selling the land to someone else.

Burnett's brother Julian, who was showing visitors around the site with his brother last week, said a little brush clearing also would leave homesites with fantastic views of Lords Creek and the Cape Fear River.

But Gilbert Burnett said that's not what the family wanted, with his brother nodding in agreement. "We've got enough homes around here," Gilbert Burnett said. "We just wanted to make sure the deer and foxes had somewhere to go, too."