On Friday February 26, 2021, the Coastal Land Trust transfered almost 183 acres of pine woodlands, pocosin wetlands, and bottomland hardwood forest to the US Forest Service – the first time we have transferred land to the US Forest Service. The land, (Davis Tract) lies along Reedy Branch, a tributary of the Trent River in Craven County, and is surrounded on three sides by the Croatan National Forest. The Coastal Land Trust purchased the property in April 2019 with the hope of transferring it to the U. S. Forest Service to be managed as part of the Croatan National Forest.
The Coastal Land Trust purchased the Davis Tract with funds from the Croatan Protection Fund and a grant from the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund. The purchase of the Davis Tract was the Coastal Land Trust’s second of the six conservation acquisitions completed (so far) using a portion of the Havelock bypass settlement funds. The Coastal Land Trust received $7.3 million from a settlement between N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Sierra Club over the State’s proposed U.S. 70 Havelock Bypass that goes through the Croatan National Forest. As part of the settlement, NC DOT, Sierra Club, and NCCLT entered into a Memorandum of Agreement which provided $7.3M to NCCLT to establish the Croatan Protection Fund ($5.3M) and a Revolving Loan Fund ($2M). The Coastal Land Trust remains most grateful to have been selected as the recipient of the Havelock bypass settlement funds, without which we could not have purchased and permanently conserved this property – a perfect addition to the Croatan National Forest!
PC: Dab Shackelford
