The Nature Conservancy Transfers 3,375 Acres to the State

Entire Shoreline, Vital Habitat Area, Protected

DURHAM — The Nature Conservancy today announced the sale of 3,375 acres of Tyrrell County land to the state of North Carolina. With this transfer to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), the entire 70-mile shoreline of the Alligator River is now protected.

“The Alligator River is truly one of North Carolina’s wild places,” said Fred Annand, Associate Director of the Nature Conservancy. “Now, it will stay that way – providing valuable habitat for species like red-cockaded woodpeckers, red wolves and black bears. There are also a number of salt water fish species that depend on the Alligator for spawning. From a wildlife perspective, this area is invaluable.”

“This acquisition is a true jewel for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission,” said Tommy Hughes, Supervising Wildlife Biologist for the Coastal Region Public Lands Program. “The purchase of this tract will increase the WRC’s holding in the immediate area to approximately 15,000 acres. This is land protection and management on a landscape scale and will benefit many species of fish and wildlife. Specifically this property will provide critical habitat for black bears, red wolves and red-cockaded woodpeckers, not to mention providing excellent hunting opportunities for whitetail deer.”

The state paid $3 million for the tract. The state’s purchase was made possible by funding from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Natural Heritage Trust Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Wetland grant program. This tract will be combined with the 5,521 acres purchased by the WRC with the Nature Conservancy’s assistance in January. The nearly 8,900 acres will be managed by WRC as one of the state’s newest public game lands.

"This is exactly the kind of project that is a perfect fit for the Natural Heritage Trust Fund," said Bob Gordon, chairman of NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund Board of Trustees. "The Trust Fund is designed to protect land with an outstanding natural or cultural heritage. The Alligator River fills that bill - its ecosystem is unique and putting the land into game lands ensures that people who have always hunted in the area can continue to do so."

"This ensures that water quality in Eastern North Carolina is protected," said Richard Rogers, executive director of the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund. "Without that protection, both the natural and economic resources of that part of our state would be at serious risk."

In addition to playing a vital role with wildlife, the newly protected tract is significant in a number of other ways, including:

• It is a critical part of a nationally significant wetlands landscape that covers more than 320,000 acres, including two national wildlife refuges.
• It is a key component of the Alligator River Portfolio Conservation Area, which supports the largest area of peat land communities (Swamp Forest, Atlantic White Cedar Forest, Pond Pine Woodland and Pocosins) in the eastern United States.
• It includes two miles of frontage on the Alligator River, which is designated as an Outstanding Resource Water due to its excellent water quality and the many important species of fish that live and spawn there.

This property transfer completes almost three decades of conservation efforts to protect the Alligator River and surrounding lands. From 1980 to 1988 The Nature Conservancy helped create the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge by arranging a gift from Prudential Insurance Company of 118,000 acres and purchasing 25,000 acres of adjacent land.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.