Nestled between the cities of Hendersonville and Brevard, the horseshoe-shaped DuPont State Forest covers 10,400 acres within the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a gem of North Carolina's outdoors, known for its numerous waterfalls and large pockets of granite cover. This beautiful forestland offers the public a place to get outside for hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. But this land was once in private ownership and it was only through partnership and long-term dedication to conservation that this forest came to be.

The story begins back in 1995, when Dupont Corporation showed interest in selling the land and the state of North Carolina wanted to purchase it but needed assistance in making that happen. That's where the Fund came in. We assisted the State in acquiring the land by purchasing more than 8,000 acres from DuPont through a combination of land donation and bargain sale. We held the land until a year later when, with funding from the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund, the State purchased 7,600 acres from us. In 2000, an additional 500 acres, which we continued to hold while the state gathered additional funding, was added to the park. After the Fund's assistance in acquiring more than 8,000 acres, the State completed its land acquisition with the purchase of 2,200 acres from a separate developer.

We work hard to make conservation a reality and are pleased to have been part of this public/private partnership that led to the creation of DuPont State Forest. Now, this outdoor space is saved and available so that future generations can enjoy the natural beauty of North Carolina as we do today.

Seen The Hunger Games? It was filmed in DuPont State Forest. This Huffington Post article talks about how the N.C. State Forest Service was onsite during the filming to make sure that “people didn't hurt the forest and that the forest didn't hurt the people.” Read it here: The Hunger Games Take Over North Carolina

Photo: english invader/Flickr

The Fund is very active in land conservation in Louisiana, working with a wide range of partners to protect more than 200,000 acres across the state, valued at $134 million. We believe effective land and water use planning will ensure that future generations can experience Lousiana's natural areas and world class outdoor opportunities as we do today.

Based on our proven track record for conservation in the state, we were invited to assist the Louisina Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LA DWF) to think strategically about the wise stewardship of the state’s natural resources.

The Master Plan

The LA DWF has asked the Fund to help create a "master plan" for the state's wildlife management areas and refuges. Using our expertise in strategic conservation, real estate acquisition, plan implementation and mapping, we'll provide a blueprint for LA DWF to strategically and effectively move forward on management, planning, and acquisition priorities for its wildlife management system.

In the winter and spring of 2012, we'll be working closely with the LA DWF staff across the state to develop the following elements of the master plan:

• An Inventory of wildlife management areas (WMAs) and refuges describing the range of public uses, facilities, resource management challenges and partnership potential.
• Document the degree of use of the WMAs/refuges for scientific research and highlight opportunities for expansion of research collaboration, using the WMAs as living laboratories.
• Conduct a capacity test of the use of existing local, state and federal agency conservation programs, nonprofit and university partnerships.
• Assess the opportunities for strategic expansion of WMAs/refuges and connecting these lands with a network of functional wildlife corridors.
• Provide a green infrastructure network to help LA DWF decision makers incorporate a broad ecological context into land acquisition, facility expansion and natural resource management decisions.
• Develop a comprehensive implementation strategy that includes land acquisition opportunities, approaches to leverage key Federal and state conservation incentive programs, and new mechanisms for obtaining conservation and restoration capital.

Our Background In Green Infrastructure Planning In Louisiana

In recent years, we've collaborated with the LA DWF on the design of a green infrastructure network that provides a regional ecosystem-based framework for evaluating mitigation opportunities for a natural gas pipeline system. This network is a strategically planned, interconnected natural resource system that provides multiple ecosystem benefits that can help inform future expansions of the wildlife management area system.

For more information on our mitigation work, click here.

Photo: finchlake2000/Flickr

When the Appalachian Trail was mapped in the 1920s, the plan set out by Benton Mackaye called for a trail and associated spurs that stretched from Maine to northern Alabama. While the primary trail was completed in north Georgia in the 1930s, efforts to build the spur into Alabama faded.

Over the course of nearly two decades, the Fund worked with numerous partners to link the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama to the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia.  By conserving key properties and extending the Pinhoti Trail, we were able to successfully link the two trails and extend the reach of the Appalachian Trail into Alabama.

Our efforts began back in 1985 when the Alabama Trails Association approached us to engage private landowners and negotiate the acquisition of properties that were key to completing the trail. We helped acquire nearly 10 properties, protecting more than 7,000 acres and adding more than 20 miles to the Pinhoti Trail across Alabama and Georgia. Finally in 2006, the purchase of three miles of trail corridor culminated the effort to link the Pinhoti to the Appalachian Trail.

Even after linking the trails, our work continued. In 2009 we permanently protected the eight-mile crest of Rebecca Mountain, a major ridge in the Appalachian Mountains. This land allows the U.S. Forest Service to complete a portion of the Pinhoti Trail that connects Rebecca Mountain to the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. This property is open to visitors for hiking, camping and recreation.

With three million people hiking a portion each year, the Appalachian Trail is one of America's favorite places to experience the outdoors. We will continue to protect lands around the trail, whether in New Hampshire, Alabama or the other states that it passes through. We're passionate about conservation and work to make sure America's favorite places stay that way.

Access to the outdoors is a health and quality of life issue for all Americans, but especially those living in or near urban areas.  Our work with the City of Brentwood in Tennessee is a great example of how our efforts can make a real difference in a community. In 2010, we helped the city increase its green space by 50 percent.

Brentwood, just 13 miles from downtown Nashville, is one of the most desirable suburban locations to live and work in Middle Tennessee. As the city grows and the number of subdivisions increases, the community is putting conservation first. Green space preservation is the top priority in the Brentwood 2020 Plan, a long-term planning strategy created with community input. The city hopes to purchase large tracts of land while they are still available—and affordable.

Not wanting to see their land developed into subdivisions, members of the Smith family offered to sell 320 acres to the city for a price well below market value. Brentwood asked the Fund for assistance, and over the next two years we provided the expertise and capital for the city to acquire the property and the historic home that sits on it. It's was the city's largest land purchase, and the property is now the largest park in Brentwood. Click here to download a PDF of a map of the land.

With forested wildlife habitats still in their natural state, hiking trails for outdoor enthusiasts and field land to hold activities such as youth sports, the property is a welcome addition to the city park system. Access to the new park is off a major road, and the bikeway network that runs through the city will connect the park with other areas, such as the public library.  This addition of public green space provides a higher quality of life to Brentwood residents and the assurance that the city will remain a desirable place to live for years to come.

By contributing to the Fund, you can ensure the natural places in our cities—and our country—are preserved. After all, no one should have to go far to experience the outdoors.

Located about 40 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, Weeks Bay NERR encompasses more than 6,500 acres—nearly 5,000 of those are water. It is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System which protects more than 1.3 million acres across the U.S. One of the primary goals of the reserve is to restore degraded wetland systems in order to improve wildlife habitats and water quality within the estuary. It also offers public access for educational and recreational opportunities.

The Fund preserved 820 acres of coastal wetland habitat located within the acquisition boundary of Weeks Bay NERR—the largest addition since its designation as a reserve in 1986.

This addition offers both wetlands and forests that serve as winter havens for various migratory birds, including the Prothonotary Warbler (pictured at right) and other declining neotropical species.

But saving our outdoor resources is about more than just buying land. In order for conservation to last, it needs to make economic sense. The 820 acres that have been added to the reserve not only protect critical habitat for birds but also support the local economy.  “This accomplishment will not only provide long-term restoration opportunities to benefit these important coastal wetland habitats, but it will enable public recreation for the citizens of Baldwin County and the State of Alabama,” said Walter Ernest, IV, Executive Director of the Weeks Bay Foundation. “The public use provided will also support the local economy through activities such as birding, which accounts for over $600 million in spending within the state.”

“Protecting this property has been a priority for the Weeks Bay NERR for many years, and we are proud to assist in making this a reality.” said Ray Herndon, Regional Director for The Conservation Fund.

If you would like to support our efforts to ensure America's natural wonders are preserved for our children to enjoy, please donate today.

Photos: Weeks Bay, photo TCF (top); Prothonotary Warbler, photo Richard Gibbons, Flickr.

The Fund's Resourceful Communities Program is working to establish North Carolina's first community forest. UNCTV spotlighted the benefits and future of Hoke Community Forest, the first community forest in the state.

You can also read about Hoke Community Forest here

Since 2007, Dell and The Conservation Fund have been working together to rebuild forests across the United States through the Plant a Tree program. Thanks to this continuing partnership, Dell customers have made donations that helped plant more than 130,000 trees between 2007 and 2010.

That's a lot of trees.

To celebrate Earth Day 2010, Dell created the Plant a Tree for a Friend Facebook application. For every tree Facebook users dedicated to a friend during the month of April, Dell made a donation to the Fund. More than 43,000 people participated and the campaign resulted in the restoration of 358 acres at Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge near Monroe, Louisiana (Read about our efforts to restore forestland in the Upper Ouachita NWR). Restoration of native forestland has many benefits, including creating much need.ed habitat for wildlife and providing flood protection and cleaner waters for the communities downstream from the Ouachita River.

But it gets better: Dell's campaign inspired several generous individuals to donate to the Fund's efforts to restore Upper Ouachita's native forestland. And the tree supplier, Delta Wildlife Consulting, was able to provide 30 percent more trees than initially anticipated. As a result, 108,000 native seedlings—hickory, oak and cypress—were planted on 358 acres in the Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge.

"Dell's Plant a Tree for a Friend Facebook campaign has tremendous benefits for Louisiana’s wildlife and its people," said the Fund's Jena Thompson Meredith of the Fund. "Given the recent events in the Gulf Coast region, restoring these lands is now more important than ever." 

See images from the tree planting:

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  Upper Ouachita NWR
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  Upper Ouachita Planting Area
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  Preparing to plant the trees
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  Planting the trees

We know that for conservation solutions to truly last they need to benefit the surrounding communities. In South Carolina, the creation of the  Belfast Wildlife Management Area, not only protects wildlife habitat, it also offers the public access to a new outdoor space to enjoy and preserves part of South Carolina's history.

 After a two-year effort, working with a group of organizations, we completed the creation of Belfast WMA. Our efforts began in 2008 when we purchased nearly 4,664 acres for this new wildlife management area. We immediately transferred nearly half of it—2,228 acres—to South Carolina DNR andheld the remaining portion until DNR secured the necessary funding to acquire the rest of the property. DNR completed the purchase in July 2010.

Located between two sections of Sumter National Forest, Belfast WMA contains a mix of hardwood forest, pine forest and wetlands that provide habitat for a variety of game and non-game species such as white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, bobwhite quail, Kentucky warbler and American woodcock. The property also includes a historic plantation home that dates back to 1786 and is one of the oldest structures in Laurens County.

This land is now open to the public for hunting and other recreational opportunities. South Carolina DNR plans to use the plantation home for group events, educational programs and to promote outdoor activities with youth.

"With the acquisition of this property, we will not only expand hunting opportunities but will also utilize Belfast Plantation for educational and recruitment efforts through the creation of shooting ranges and expansion of educational programs. DNR hopes to work with schools and organizations in both counties to enhance opportunities to get youth into the outdoors," said John Frampton, DNR director.

Take a video tour of the Belfast Wildlife Management Area:

It's been two years since the Deepwater Horizon burned, sank and began spilling oil on April 20, 2010. With nearly 5 million barrels of oil discharged into the Gulf Coast, local communities, landscapes and wildlife are still dealing with the effects of oil contamination.

How Is The Conservation Fund Helping?

As a land conservation organization, we are dedicated to restoring the coastal landscapes in the Gulf Coast. Our work includes protecting and restoring unimpacted coastal wetlands, as well as bottomland hardwood forests along the Mississippi River and other rivers that feed into the Gulf of Mexico. This effort is important for wildlife, such as birds: Forced from contaminated marshes, birds must look for healthy habitat nearby in order to survive.

We also know that conserving natural landscapes will help the local communities, many of which have economies based on tourism and fishing. Read about our projects in Louisiana and Alabama to learn about our conservation successes.

We’re committed to actively helping our partners in federal, state and local agencies as they work to restore this damaged ecosystem. As these agencies plan to acquire healthy new habitat for birds and wildlife affected by the spill, we continue to play an active role. To date, The Conservation Fund has helped protect or restore more than 300,000 acres in the region.

You Can Help.

Your donation helps save America's favorite places, including important coastal lands along the Gulf Coast.

Pelican flying with contamination boom in the background.Photo: USFWS Southeast/Tom Mackenzie