January 2, 2003

(Note from savvy Missourian: SEE HOW FAST THE WILDLANDS PROJECT IS MOVING? Property owners will not know what hit them until it's too late... HELLO, CARA! And thanks again to the congressmen and senators who in their greed and stupidity helped aid and abet such as this.....especially the senator here in Missouri who co-sponsored the vile thing.....and how nice it felt when when Senator Lott, one of the original sponsors, got what was coming to him. I am hoping that his big mouth and his "good luck" continues until time for his reelection(?) ... VIVA LA BACK-STABBING POLITICIANS!!! May CARA continue to bite them in the ... uh ... end.)

(Note P.S. - For those who don't yet see 'the big picture,' here's an excerpt from the article that says it well: "The Nature Conservancy is about halfway to its goal ..." How much control over land will be left after the 'Nature Conservancy' gets 50% MORE control over land? That's what it really means when they say 'preservation': they mean Control. This plethora of language deception masquerading under the banner of 'free speech' is nothing more than a media Medusa.)

News & Record

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Greensboro, North Carolina 27420

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http://www.news-record.com

To submit a Letter to the Editor: edpage@news-record.com  (250-word limit)

RALEIGH (AP) - In recent months, Gov. Mike Easley's administration has started figuring out how the state can realize former Gov. Jim Hunt's goal of preserving 1 million acres of open land by 2010.

The One North Carolina Naturally program -- http://www.enr.state.nc.us/officeofconservation/index.html  -- aims to draw a master map of the undeveloped places most important to preserve to protect wildlife and plants, attract tourists and keep waterways clean.

Considered a lofty goal when Hunt proposed it in 2000 and the General Assembly embraced it the following year, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources will attempt to make the goal real by targeting acquisitions by state and local governments, non-profits like the Nature Conservancy, and private donors.

"We can conserve a million acres, but if it's not done in an organized manner, if it's not going to be done with a plan in mind, then we won't maximize our conservation efforts," Richard Rogers, who heads the effort at chief of DENR's Office of Conservation and Community Affairs, said Thursday.

Last fall, DENR held eight public meetings from Boone to Wilmington in developing its plan.

The conservation effort aims to develop a map by summer showing natural features already preserved, key sites still unprotected and a plan to preserve the best of what remains at risk.

Rogers said the department also is putting together a funding request of the General Assembly this spring after adding up sources of money already available. Various state programs now pay to develop park lands, leave farms and forests undeveloped, and buy land to reduce water pollution.

Setting aside 1 million acres in a decade requires an average of 100,000 acres a year. Public and private efforts have averaged about about 75,000 acres in the past couple of years, Rogers said.

"We're still lagging behind, there's no doubt about it," he said.

State government has had to cut spending and raise revenues to close budget shortfalls of nearly $2.5 billion the past two years.

Private groups have stepped in to the conservation breech.

The Nature Conservancy last spring paid $24 million for 38,000 acres of isolated woods and wetlands along the state's coastal plain in one of the year's largest conservation deals. The state is expected to repay the conservancy for the land.

The two largest parcels purchased are adjacent to two existing state gamelands in Pender County and linked together 100,000 acres of undeveloped land. About 100,000 acres are paved every year, Rogers said.

Collecting parcels together to give animals room to roam is a goal of targeted conservation, Rogers said.

The Nature Conservancy is about halfway to its goal announced last year to raise $25 million for land preservation. The group also plans to buy undeveloped property in the headwaters of the New River and the Hickory Nut Gorge in western North Carolina; the Upper Tar, Roanoke and Lower Cape Fear river basins; and the Green Swamp/Boiling Springs wetlands in eastern North Carolina; and some of the last remaining longleaf pine forests in the Sandhills.

http://www.news-record.com/news/now/land02.htm

Mission (and Principles) of the One North Carolina 'Program': To lead in developing and implementing a comprehensive statewide conservation plan that involves the public, governmental agencies, private organizations, and landowners. To maintain functional ecosystems, biological diversity and working landscapes through the stewardship of land and water resources. To implement a plan that will conserve and restore the State's natural heritage and sustain a healthy life for all North Carolinians and visitors.

Principles: To protect the state's land and water effectively, One North Carolina Naturally will be guided by the following principles: We must be proactive to protect healthy ecosystems now before they are threatened and we must restore less healthy systems before they decline further. We must be coordinated in joining partners to integrate our strategies. We must be efficient in recognizing existing achievements to focus resources. We must be innovative, looking for ways to blend public and private strategies, public conservation and private hopes, incentives and funding. We must be holistic in recognizing that growth patterns, development needs, and financial factors affect essential land and water conservation; and they are critical in advancing the State towards a healthy and sustainable future.

http://www.enr.state.nc.us/officeofconservation/pages/mission.html