A 17-acre bog in Burke County is now protected for conservation following purchase by the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina.

The Jonas Ridge property borders the Pisgah Loop Scenic Highway and was purchased from landowner Hazel Shell with funding from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

Southern Appalachian mountain bogs are rare and contain vulnerable ecosystems. Located at the highest elevations in Burke County, Jonas Ridge Bog is home to a variety of uncommon plant, animal and insect species, including cranberries, a species typically associated with New England. It drains to headwaters of Upper Creek, a high-quality trout stream as designated by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

Foothills Conservancy intends to donate the property to Burke County under a N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund conservation easement. Future plans include an interpretive trail that will allow hikers to learn about bog systems.

Cite…

The latest round of awards from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund totals $14.3 million, with nearly $3 million of that going to conservation projects in Western North Carolina.

• The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy landed $1.2 million toward its effort to secure property on Chestnut Mountain in Haywood County currently owned by Canton Motorsports, LLC, and located right off U.S. 19/23. The SAHC hopes to acquire the land and make it available for public recreation. It is currently exploring options with the Town of Canton and Haywood County to see if the land would make a good natural resource protective public park.

• The Maggie Valley Sanitary District received $1.19 million to conserve tracts of land along Johnson Branch in the Maggie Valley watershed. Depending on federal matching funds, the money could cover protection for the remainder of an entire 1,350-acre area that owners have agreed to sell for conservation as funding becomes available, part of a larger effort to conserve more than 2,000 acres in the Campbell Creek and Jonathan Creek watersheds. The Conservation Fund, which is a partner in the effort, celebrated the acquisition of 710 acres of that area in a Sept. 13 event.

Over the last 20 years, the CWMTF has conserved more than 500,000 acres, protected more than 2,500 miles of streambank, and preserved 12 historic sites. The fund was established in 1996 to protect the state’s drinking water sources and today also works to conserve and protect the state’s natural resources, cultural resources and military installations.

Cite…

Western North Carolina will see more hiking trails, added land for the Blue Ridge Parkway and state natural areas and better water quality thanks to $20.7 million in grants awarded recently through the state’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

The grants awarded to municipalities, state agencies and conservation groups will fund 54 projects relating to land conservation, stream restoration, innovative stormwater management and conservation planning from the mountains to the coast.

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund was established in 1996 by the General Assembly to protect the state’s drinking water sources but today is also tasked with conserving and protecting the state’s natural resources, cultural heritage and military installations.

In the face of population growth putting pressure on land and water resources and further threats from climate change that have lengthened droughts and led to forest fires, the conservation projects funded through the trust fund are more important than ever.

One of the biggest clean water grants awarded was just more than $1 million to The Conservation Fund to buy 912 acres of Blackrock Creek in the Plott Balsam Range in Jackson County.

The Conservation Fund is working with Sylva to expand the town’s existing 1,100-acre Pinnacle Park, a popular hiking and trail running spot. The land will expand Pinnacle Park with the 441-acre Blackrock Creek and 5,810-foot Blackrock Peak an and 5,341-foot Pinnacle Bald and protect the 471-acre Shut-In Creek section.

Read full story…