It’s your land. Together, we can save it.
The Coastal Land Trust, together with conservation partners and local experts, created a list of the 40 best, most endangered lands that are critical to the health of the North Carolina coast and quality of life in eastern NC. Why? Because we want to save them.
Identifying these “Top 40” most important lands, and committing to the ambitious goal to save them, has accelerated our land protection program and resulted in larger projects with greater impact on the health and vitality of our coast. We’ve already saved many of the 40 most imperiled places on the NC Coast!
How does a land make the “Top 40”?
We established criteria that allowed potential projects to be ranked by factors including:
- Ecological Significance
33 of the Top 40 places are classified as being “exceptional or very high” natural areas by the NC Natural Heritage Program. This designation applies to areas of land or water that are critical for conservation of the natural biodiversity of our state - Biodiversity
17 projects are ranked at or near the top of the Natural Heritage Program’s Wildlife Biodiversity and Habitat Assessment - Landscape Position
31 projects either connect tracts of protected land or are adjacent to other conservation lands - Size
17 projects will protect more than 1,000 acres each - Public Use
28 of the Top 40 could potentially become a park, preserve or natural area with public access - Threatened
16 are likely to be unavailable for conservation within the next 10 years
This ambitious conservation strategy requires a more robust investment than anything the Coastal Land Trust has ever attempted! And so, we have embarked on the single largest conservation effort ever to protect and restore the North Carolina coastal plain.
Goal:
The Your Land campaign will enable us to accomplish three key priorities:
- Secure 10 of the 40 most endangered land projects along North Carolina’s Coastal Plain
- Create a revolving loan fund to be able to move quickly on time-sensitive projects as they arise
- Strengthen our endowment to match the growth of an ambitious land acquisition strategy and honor our promise to preserve
As a result of overwhelming support from the community, we are pleased to announce that the campaign has been successfully completed! We are now poised to acquire priority conservation land, grow our endowments, and position the Coastal Land Trust for success protecting your land – now and for years to come.
THANK YOU!
