North Carolina awards more than $28 million to protect land, waterways and historic sites
RALEIGH, N.C. (WWAY) — North Carolina is investing more than $28 million in projects aimed at protecting natural areas, improving water quality and preserving historic sites across the state.
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced Friday that the North Carolina Land and Water Fund Board of Trustees approved the grants, which will help protect more than 10,000 acres statewide.
Most of the protected land is expected to eventually open to the public for activities such as hiking, hunting, fishing, boating and birdwatching.
“Every year, millions of residents and visitors enjoy North Carolina’s abundance of beautiful natural resources,” Gov. Josh Stein said. “This funding will help us conserve those resources and protect clean drinking water for communities across the state.”
More than $22 million of the funding will go toward projects in rural and economically distressed counties.
The grants include nine projects focused on restoring or improving more than five miles of streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries, along with more than 900 acres of wetlands.
The funding will also help remove barriers to reconnect more than 200 miles of fish spawning habitat in the Cape Fear River and its tributaries.
Five additional projects will explore new stormwater management techniques, while 18 planning projects will identify opportunities to improve water quality and conservation efforts.
The grants will also help protect habitats for 68 types of rare plants, animals and natural communities, including coastal marshes, pond pine woodlands and swamp forests.
Other projects receiving funding include the protection of 4,620 acres for South Mountains State Park, nearly 1,900 acres for state game lands and seven historic and cultural sites.
More than $3.6 million will also support conservation efforts near Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, protecting more than 1,960 acres around military installations and training areas.
Officials said demand for funding far exceeded the amount available this year.
“We had some really tough choices to make this year,” said Ann Browning, chair of the North Carolina Land and Water Fund Board of Trustees. “There were over $90 million in requests for funding, but we had under $30 million to award. There were so many great projects we just weren’t able to fund.”
The North Carolina Land and Water Fund was established in 1996 and has since helped conserve more than 500,000 acres and protect or restore more than 3,000 miles of streams and rivers.
A complete list of grant recipients and projects is available on the North Carolina Land and Water Fund website.
