(Raleigh, NC) North Carolina Forever, a consensus-based non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for state funds and related policies needed to conserve and protect North Carolina’s lands and waters, has released an updated “Land and Water Conservation Highlights” report.
Building on a report issued in 2018, this 2023 update highlights the importance and urgency of land and water conservation for sustaining a healthy environment and vibrant economy in North Carolina. The update also examines state funding for the conservation of North Carolina’s lands and waters from 2007 through 2022.
While funding for North Carolina’s lands and waters through various funding sources has risen sharply in the previous two years, those levels, after adjusting for inflation, remain well below those from the years of the late 2000s, a period of similar pressures on the state’s lands and waters.
The full report can be found below and an interactive dashboard breaking down North Carolina’s conservation funding can be found at NCForever.org/dashboard. NC Forever will continue to work on our legislative agenda, which calls for increased support for the state’s three conservation trust funds, support for conservation initiatives for private land owners, and support for initiatives that provide cleaner, healthier and more economically productive coastal waters.
The “Land and Water Conservation Highlights” report discusses the multiple pressures on North Carolina’s lands and waters due to rapid population growth, large losses of farmland, rising land prices, and the leap in demand for outdoor recreation spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the report details how healthy, natural spaces provide countless benefits to our communities, like attracting workers and businesses and increasing property values by investing in parks and green spaces. Spending time in nature can also improve people’s physical and psychological well-being. Maybe most importantly as we continue to experience climate change, natural environments protect communities from floods and other extreme weather.
The report discusses progress as well as opportunities regarding state-level funding for conservation as North Carolina has seen a strong rebound in conservation funding over the last two years with growing attention to building resiliency, including nature-based solutions, but the state still lags behind other states in natural resource spending. While recurring dedicated funding for the three conservation trust funds has grown, it needs expanding. The state should also consider re-establishing the state’s conservation tax credit, a powerful incentive for conservation among private landowners.
The NC Forever report identifies several opportunities to expand partnerships and utilize funding from several federal programs through the Departments of Defense and Interior, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The organization also suggests looking to successful conservation initiatives across the country to provide inspiration and opportunities for landscape-scale conservation in North Carolina.
Finally, the organization looks at progress on its legislative agenda as it advocates for increasing recurring funding for the state’s three conservation trust funds – the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), the Land and Water Fund (NCLWF), and the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation (ADFP) Trust Fund – to more than $100 million annually. NC Forever expects to continue its efforts to support conservation initiatives for private landowners, including building resilience to weather-related events using nature-based solutions and building the agriculture cost share programs. A third area of focus has been cleaner, healthier, and more economically productive coastal waters where NC Forever hopes to build on the expansion of oyster sanctuaries and continuing funding for the innovative water quality monitoring programs in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound (ModMon and FerryMon, respectively). Finally, as a target of conservation opportunity for the state, NC Forever hopes to see the proposed Tar River State Forest become a reality.