NEWS RELEASE |
TLC Press Contact: |
|---|---|
TLC PR# A07-01 |
Doug Nicholas |
January 9, 2007 |
833-3662 ext. 102 |
Another piece of New Hope Creek
puzzle falls into place
Orange County, Trinity School,
Triangle Land Conservancy and NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program partner to
complete corridor from Duke Forest to 15-501
(Chapel Hill, NC) –
Orange County, through its Lands Legacy Program, on January 4 acquired a
26.5-acre tract from Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill for $130,000 to
complete a long-sought protected land corridor from Duke Forest to the
Orange-Durham County line.
The NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) provided the
funding and will hold a conservation easement on the property. Triangle Land
Conservancy (TLC) was instrumental in the deal, negotiating with Trinity School
for several years in order to reach this agreement. TLC also was responsible for
bringing the EEP preservation funding to the project. Trinity School was a true
conservation partner in the deal, acquiring one tract from a private seller then
packaging it with its own land to enable this crucial New Hope Creek corridor
linkage.
The newly conserved land sits sandwiched between two other Orange County
Lands Legacy Program parcels on New Hope Creek. To the north is a 22-acre tract
purchased at a bargain price in June 2006 from Wade and Carolyn Penny (also in
partnership with TLC). To the south is a 1.1 acre tract at the Durham
County line purchased in 2005.
Immediately adjacent across the county line is land
conserved by Durham County, which also owns land along the New Hope all the way
to US 15-501. Only a handful of tracts in Durham County remain to connect the
corridor all the way to Jordan Lake, the ultimate goal of the 1991 New Hope
Creek Corridor Open Space Master Plan. Upstream, about
2,200 acres of the New Hope corridor between NC 86 and Erwin Road is conserved
by Duke Forest and TLC’s Johnston Mill Nature Preserve.
“Orange County is delighted to partner with Triangle
Land Conservancy and Trinity School to help fulfill a long-term goal of
protecting New Hope Creek,” noted Orange County Board of Commissioners Chair
Moses Carey. “In working together, TLC and the county's Lands Legacy
Program have accomplished many conservation goals, and this
acquisition ensures that several miles of the New Hope will
remain protected for future generations.”
Like many conservation deals, this was a complicated
transaction and required a full conservation partnership with the seller,
Trinity School.
In this case, Trinity School purchased a crucial
16.6-acre tract to make the deal work. The school then subdivided that tract and
recombined 10.8 acres of it with another 15.7 acres (subdivided out of a 19-acre
tract already owned by the school) to create the 26.5-acre conservation
property. The school had been using the land for science education and nature
study, and plans to continue doing so.
“Trinity School deserves tremendous recognition for its
commitment to conserving this land,” said Kevin Brice, TLC executive director.
“These negotiations followed a route as winding as New Hope Creek itself, but
the school’s leaders’ determination to work with us to protect the creek and
connect the New Hope corridor never wavered.”
This deal leaves just two pieces of unfinished business
for conservation of the Hollow Rock area of New Hope Creek. One is
the balance of payments still owed to Duke University for 43
acres on Erwin Road. The other is an anticipated conservation easement with
Wade and Carolyn Penny on about 30 acres, a deal complicated by virtue of the
land lying in both Orange and Durham, necessitating the Pennys to negotiate with
each county.
Those projects not withstanding, conservation partners
have now protected 101 acres on New Hope Creek at Erwin and Pickett Roads. This
includes the 43 acres of Duke University land which is currently being purchased
by Durham and Orange counties (to be completed in 2008); the 22-acre Penny
family tract now owned by Orange County; a 7-acre triangle of land at the corner
of Erwin and Pickett roads purchased by Orange County from Duke in February
2006; 2 acres owned by TLC; the 1-acre tract at the Durham County line
purchased by Orange County in 2005, and a 1-acre conservation easement
held by Orange County. All of this lies directly across Erwin Road from one of
the entrances to Duke Forest’s Korstian Division, which encompasses about 1,900
acres on New Hope Creek. TLC’s 296-acre Johnston Mill Nature Preserve is
separated from the Duke Forest land by one small tract.
With the conservation acquisitions and conservation
easements work nearly finished, the partners can now turn their attention to
developing parks and greenways. A master plan committee for the Hollow
Rock Access Area portion of New Hope Creek will begin work in the next few
months. This access area will provide low-impact recreation
opportunities in the Hollow Rock area as well as future trail connections
to the north and south. Eventually a New Hope Creek trail will
connect Duke Forest to Jordan Lake.
Triangle Land Conservancy is a private, nonprofit group
that conserves important open space—stream corridors, forests, wildlife habitat,
farmland and natural areas—to help keep our region a healthy and vibrant place
to live and work. TLC’s 64 protected sites in Wake, Durham, Orange,
Chatham, Johnston, and Lee counties encompass more than 9,000 acres, including
several preserves open to visitors year-round. TLC is primarily funded by
individual contributions and memberships, plus grants from foundations, state
government and corporations.
Orange County’s Lands Legacy Program works to acquire critical natural and cultural resource lands within the County. Administered by the Environmental and Resource Conservation Department, Lands Legacy has protected 1,700 acres of natural areas, future parks, farmland and cultural sites since its creation in 2000, and has contributed to the protection of another 1,000 acres. Lands Legacy actively partners with other conservation agencies and has leveraged over $3 million in Federal and State conservation funds toward these acquisitions.
For additional comment,
contact:
David Stancil, Director, Orange Co. Environment & Resource Conservation Dept., 245-2598
Bill Francis, Business Manager, Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, 402-8262