Preserving Our Lands
Mountains, wetlands, sandy coasts and longleaf pine forests—North Carolina’s lands are our home.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in North Carolina has protected more than 740,000 acres of land across the state, most of which has been transferred into public ownership for all to enjoy, including well-known places such as Grandfather Mountain, Chimney Rock and Jockey’s Ridge. TNC owns and manages 140,000 acres across the state, which we steward with controlled burns, invasive plant removal, and other work to improve the health of these ecosystems. TNC’s land protection efforts protect North Carolina’s iconic places, provide habitat for wildlife and support people through improved air quality, reduced flood risk and outdoor recreation.
Natural habitats are threatened by conversion and fragmentation—largely due to development, incompatible land uses and insufficient ecological management. This results in the loss of plant and animal species, interruption of natural cycles, impacts on water quality and quantity and increased effects of climate change. Land protection is a cornerstone of our work, followed by stewardship of the lands to restore biodiversity, ensure land connectivity and protect recreational areas.
Our Three Strategies
Working hand-in-hand with natural resource managers, government agencies, other conservation organizations and local landowners, TNC aims to protect a viable network of lands that can withstand the stresses of climate change and have the best chance of sustaining wildlife, natural areas and our quality of life into the future.
Protect Resilient and Connected Landscapes
TNC prioritizes properties that conserve and restore a resilient and connected network of lands and waters, safeguarding a diversity of species and ecological function, facilitating ecological restoration and management and benefiting human communities with ties to those lands. TNC’s approach to land protection includes acquisition, conservation easements, innovative financing solutions and assisting our partners with their land protection projects.
Strategy in Practice
Check out our great partnership with the Department of Defense to expand longleaf pine conservation and increase the population of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Steward and Leverage TNC Lands
TNC owns and manages 140,000 acres across the state, organized into over 60 nature preserves. Three of these preserves—Green Swamp Preserve, Nags Head Woods Preserve and Calloway Forest Preserve—are open for the public to enjoy NC’s iconic plants such as the Venus flytrap. The remaining preserves serve as living laboratories, where we experiment with different stewardship tactics, measure our approaches and conduct research that informs the broader conservation community.
Restore and Manage Forests
The health and resiliency of forests—from hickories in the mountains to longleaf pine in the Sandhills—are in decline due to fire suppression, fragmentation and lack of management. To improve the health and resilience of our forests, we conduct active forest management, which includes controlled burning, selective timber harvest and reforestation. TNC is the world’s leading nonprofit organization in conducting controlled burning, expanding knowledge and partnering with state and federal agencies and other nonprofit organizations to assist on burns.
Be Part of this Work
Protect the nature you love in North Carolina and around the world today. Every acre we preserve, every mile of coastline restored, every habitat we save for wildlife, begins with you.
Defining Land Protection
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Acquisition
TNC acquires and owns land through purchases, donations, or transfers from partners.
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Conservation Easement
A legally binding agreement that commits a property to certain conservation practices or outcomes, while allowing the landowner to retain ownership. As the easement holder, TNC monitors future uses of the land to ensure compliance. Keep reading
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Preserve
Protected land that has been set aside in perpetuity for the primary purpose of conservation. A preserve may also offer opportunities for scientific research and low-impact recreation.
Our Work in Action
At a staggering 5,540 feet, Big Yellow Mountain’s open, grassy peak offers stunning views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Located in northwest Avery County, this incredible TNC preserve is bordered to the north by Pisgah National Forest. NC acquired Big Yellow Mountain in 1977, transferring some of the land to the U.S. Forest Service while continuing to manage 395 acres alongside the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
Big Yellow is a grassy bald, an unusual community type that creates an ideal habitat for plants and animals that thrive in cool temperatures and abundant sunlight. In the spring, summer and fall, the bald and surrounding slopes are blanketed with three-toothed cinquefoil, mountain oat grass and wildflowers such as Gray’s lily, Turk’s cap lily and fringed phacelia, making it an ideal habitat for pollinators. This wasn’t always the case; our land management efforts, including planting native species, controlled burning, sustainable grazing and managing invasive species, have helped Big Yellow’s habitat thrive.
Although the origin of its bald is uncertain, we do know that climate, Indigenous Peoples, fire and large grazing animals shaped the plant communities atop these mountains. Even today you may see cattle grazing at Big Yellow. That’s because TNC works with a local family to sustainably graze the bald to maintain its openness.
Visit a TNC Preserve
- Nags Head Woods Preserve is one of the largest remaining maritime forests on the East Coast. A maritime forest is a woodland habitat influenced by the ocean. This forest is particularly unique because it is shielded by the massive sand dunes of Jockey’s Ridge, which we helped protect. These geological features create an incredible habitat for birds, otters, and many other animals that inhabit this preserve. Nags Head Woods offers seven hiking trails, each providing a unique exploration of diverse coastal habitats.
Green Swamp Preserve is the best place to see carnivorous plants in their natural habitat. Did you know the iconic Venus flytrap only grows within a 70-mile radius of Wilmington? And you will see many of them at the Green Swamp. We use controlled burning to restore this place to a healthy longleaf pine habitat.
Calloway Forest Preserve is a good place to see healthy longleaf forests and the benefits of controlled burning on this ecosystem. The preserve protects 2,812 acres of longleaf pine habitat, many of which are home to the federally threatened red-cockaded woodpecker.
Our Global Impact
Nature doesn’t know state lines; birds fly to different countries, and fish swim from our rivers to the ocean. The work we do in North Carolina, the work you support, has a global impact.
For example, our Silver Run Preserve is the Appalachians’ “living laboratory,” where we are trying different silvicultural techniques to restore oaks and hickories, which maples and poplars are replacing. Oak restoration is vital throughout the Appalachians for animal habitat, plant diversity, and preparing the forest for extreme weather events. Everything we learn at Silver Run informs work across the region.
Additionally, protecting land throughout the Appalachians, one of the world's most biodiverse regions, helps create wildlife corridors and sustain biodiversity.
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