Saving Our Beautiful Coastal Lands
Wow...what an evening. Janice Allen the Director at the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust started off telling an amazing story. A story that not only told us more about the NC Coastal Land Trust but also detailed specific efforts that unraveled the mysterious fate of a North Carolina's fabled Lost Colony.
The land trust bought a coastal property where archaeologists believe colonists may have resettled. England's ill-fated first settlement in North America has piqued imagination and intrigued historians for centuries. In 1587, 116 English settlers landed on Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina, but they later vanished.
The Salmon Creek Preserve has implications in the Lost Colony Story. The AP story was picked up nationwide. The NC Coastal Land Trust is so honored that they could step in and save this piece of land that also boasts both cultural history and ecological bounty. The property also was home to an Indian village and the plantation of Thomas Pollock, who was governor in the early 1700s.
For the first time, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust borrowed money to buy land, paying more than $5 million for 1,000 acres. Eventually, the trust will turn over the waterfront tract to the state, preserving it for future study and state park.
The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust conserves lands with scenic, recreational, historic and/or ecological value. Our mission is to enrich the coastal communities of our state through conservation of natural areas and working landscapes, education, and the promotion of good land stewardship.
Janice Allen, the Director at the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, talk about the activities and accomplishments of her organization. The Coastal Land Trust is the only conservation group working exclusively on saving coastal lands throughout North Carolina’s coastal plain. They save beaches that become state parks, streams that provide clean water, forests that are havens for wildlife, working farms that provide food, and beautiful nature parks for everyone to enjoy.
Chances are, the Trust saved a place you or your family have visited to hike, stroll, boat, canoe, kayak, fish or bird-watch. They partner with local parks and recreation departments, so kids and grown-ups alike will have places to explore nature.