More than 1,000 acres of land protected by Unique Places to Save in Boiling Spring Lakes

BOLING SPRING LAKES, NC (WWAY) — A North Carolina conservation group says it has helped protect more than 1,000 acres of natural landscapes in southern Brunswick County as development pressure continues to grow in the region.

Unique Places to Save said it acquired and recorded a state-held conservation easement on 1,040 acres of forested wetlands, Carolina bays and sand ridges known as the Boiling Spring Wilderness. The nonprofit said the property sits between St. James and Boiling Spring Lakes and includes rare plant and animal communities.

The easement links two nearby conservation areas, Orton Plantation, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, and the state’s Boiling Spring Lakes Plant Conservation Preserve, creating what the organization described as a nearly 10,000-acre connected conservation landscape.

Unique Places to Save said connecting large conservation areas helps ensure rare plants and animals have sufficient habitat and can support long-term land management efforts such as invasive species removal and habitat restoration.

The group also said the project is intended to protect water quality by safeguarding the headwaters of Orton Creek and wetlands overlying the Castle Hayne Aquifer, a water source for thousands of Brunswick County residents.

“Boiling Spring Wilderness demonstrates what is possible when conservation organizations partner with willing landowners to achieve multiple, lasting outcomes,” said Christine Pickens, executive director of Unique Places to Save. “The project protects functioning wetlands that help surrounding communities better withstand flooding and storms, safeguards globally-rare habitats that support biodiversity, and contributes towards a critical safety buffer around Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point.”

Funding for the project was provided through a $3.68 million grant from the N.C. Land and Water Fund, the organization said. Unique Places to Save said the fund awards grants to protect land for natural, historical and cultural benefit, limit encroachment on military installations, restore degraded streams, and support stormwater treatment improvements.