Did You Know...
In the last two decades Western North Carolina has lost 261,000 acres of forests, farms, stream banks and wildlife habitats to development – an area ten times the size of Asheville. North Carolina leads the nation in farmland loss. With North Carolina's population projected to increase by 50%, from 8 million in 2000 to 12 million in 2030, many of our natural places are on course to become subdivisions. Habitat destruction threatens or endangers 93 animal species, and another 90 are on the brink of requiring protection status. Mountain property values have sharply increased in the last five years, taxing land trusts' ability to protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and magnificent scenic views. |
Protecting an American Treasure
The local land trusts have preserved more than 150,000 acres in Western North Carolina over the last 30 years. Our five-year goal is to protect 50,000 more acres by 2010. We are facing rapid changes in mountain land values. In some places, land that sold for $3,000 an acre five years ago now sells for $10,000 or more. We are raising these acquisition funds through private gifts and public support, land donations, and bargain sales of land.
The future of some of the most treasured and threatened landscapes of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains depends on your immediate resolve and commitment. You have an extraordinary opportunity to leave a lifetime legacy of protection.
• Donate to the collective Blue Ridge Forever campaign.
• Join, donate to and volunteer with your local land trust.
• Contact your elected officials to ask them to support land, water, and farmland
conservation.
• Consider permanently protecting your own land.
Donate to the Blue Ridge Forever Campaign for 50,000 Acres
Your support helps us to:
1) Initiate broad public outreach in support of our protection goals, and
2) Pursue an ambitious land acquisition private funding effort.Donate* today by clicking the banner below. (Please type Blue Ridge Forever into the “designation” field, otherwise, your gift will go to Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, which serves as our coalition's fiscal agent.)
* In the Designation field on Network for Good website, type
“Blue Ridge Forever” or the name of your local land trust.
Or contact:
Phyllis Stiles, Campaign Director
Blue Ridge Forever
(828) 253-0095 x212 phyllis@blueridgeforever.infoJoin, donate to and volunteer with your local land trust.
Find the land conservancy you would like to support by searching our list of Partners.
Local land trusts depend on member contributions and the support of people like you. Donations are tax deductible.
Land trusts are also looking for volunteers to help with:
• Leading guided hikes on protected properties
• Recruiting new members
• Planning and hosting special events
• Walking property boundaries
• Assisting with land management and restoration
• Taking photographs of properties
• Public and community outreach
• General office workContact your local land trust . If you need assistance finding your local land trust contact Valerie True, coalition coordinator for Blue Ridge Forever, at 828-254-0095 x213 or coordinator@blueridgeforever.info
Contact your elected officials to ask them to support, land, water and farmland conservation.
By 2030 the U.S. Census Bureau expects North Carolina's population to increase by 50% from the 2000 population, the equivalent of taking the entire population of South Carolina and moving them to North Carolina. Decisions about the conservation of land, water and farmland happen at all levels of government. Please let your local, state, and federal elected officials know that you want increased spending for critical land and water conservation.
In 2006, a diverse partnership formed Land for Tomorrow to advocate that the North Carolina General Assembly provide $1 billion over five years to preserve and protect North Carolina's special places before it's too late. Although the Land for Tomorrow legislation did not pass in the 2007 session, the General Assembly and the Governor signed into law the state budget for 2008, which included $128 million of new funding for land and water conservation. For more information on Land for Tomorrow, visit http://www.landfortomorrow.org/.
Consider permanently protecting your own land.
Landowners who want to ensure their land is protected forever, even after they are no longer the owners, can sign land preservation agreements with land trusts. Landowners may also donate or sell their land to their local land trust. Learn more about How To Conserve Your Land and speak with the local land trust that serves your county, about the many possibilities.
If you need assistance finding your local land trust contact Valerie True, coalition coordinator for Blue Ridge Forever, at 828-254-0095 x213 or coordinator@blueridgeforever.info.
