Conservation Trust For North Carolina

CTNC CONSERVES LAND IN WAYS THAT INSPIRE AND ENABLE PEOPLE TO BUILD RESILIENT, JUST COMMUNITIES. WE CARRY OUT OUR MISSION IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS AND THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. OUR GOAL IS TO LESSEN THE IMPACTS OF A CHANGING CLIMATE AND ENSURE CONSERVATION BENEFITS EVERYONE BY BEING MORE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE. CTNC'S MISSION GROWS OUT OF OUR EXPERTISE IN LAND CONSERVATION, OUR SKILL IN BRINGING NEW PEOPLE TO CONSERVATION, AND OUR EXPANDING NETWORK OF PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES. BROUGHT TOGETHER, THESE CAPABILITIES DIRECT US NOW TO CONSERVE LAND IN WAYS THAT INSPIRE AND ENABLE PEOPLE TO BUILD RESILIENT, JUST COMMUNITIES. THE COMPLEX CHALLENGES FACING CONSERVATION IN NORTH CAROLINA REQUIRE CHANGES TO THE WAYS WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY WORKED. CARING FOR AND PROTECTING THE NATURAL HERITAGE OF OUR STATE REMAINS A CORE FUNCTION OF CTNC. WE WILL CONTINUE AND BUILD ON OUR LAND PROTECTION EFFORTS FOR WILDLIFE, SCENIC VISTAS, AND ECOLOGICAL HEALTH.

BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH DIRECT LAND CONSERVATION: THE ORGANIZATION BUILDS CLIMATE RESILIENCE THROUGH HIGH-IMPACT DIRECT LAND CONSERVATION, PRIMARILY FOCUSED ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY. THE ORGANIZATION HAS CONSERVED NEARLY 38,000 ACRES OF LAND, RESULTING IN CLEANER WATER, NATURAL STORMWATER MAINTENANCE, CARBON STORAGE, WILDLIFE HABITAT PRESERVATION, AND PROTECTED VIEWS THAT ENSURE THE LOCAL ECONOMIES THRIVE. LAND PROTECTION PRIORITIES ARE INFORMED BY COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF CONSERVATION VALUES AND CLIMATE SCIENCE, INCLUDING: WATER QUALITY, WILDLIFE HABITAT, PARKWAY VISIBILITY, DEVELOPMENT THREAT, AND RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS. THE ORGANIZATION UNDERTAKES LANDOWNER OUTREACH TO ACQUIRE LAND AND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ON HIGH-PRIORITY LAND, STEWARDS PROTECTED LANDS, AND MONITORS EASEMENTS. IT ALSO PARTNERS WITH OTHER REGIONAL LAND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS AND PROVIDES LOANS AND GRANTS TO INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY AND IMPACTS.

BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH COMMUNITY-LED PARTNERSHIPS: THE ORGANIZATION USES CLIMATE SCIENCE DATA TO PARTNER WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES WHO REQUEST HELP IN RESPONDING TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THE ORGANIZATION'S EQUITY-BASED APPROACH BEGAN WITH BUILDING FLOOD RESILIENCE IN PRINCEVILLE, NC, WHICH EXPERIENCED DEVASTATING FLOODING BECAUSE OF INCREASINGLY SEVERE AND FREQUENT STORMS, INCLUDING HURRICANES FLOYD AND MATTHEW. THROUGH THEIR PARTNERSHIP, PRINCEVILLE BECAME A MODEL FOR HOW COMMUNITY-LED CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS CAN MITIGATE FUTURE RISK. INSTALLATION OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS -- LIKE RAIN GARDENS, COMMUNITY GARDENS, AND ADDITIONAL TREE COVERAGE IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS -- RESULTED IN 30,000 GALLONS OF STORMWATER BEING REDIRECTED TO ECOLOGICALLY BENEFICIAL USES. THE ORGANIZATION IS SHARING THIS MODEL TO INCREASE CLIMATE RESILIENCY STATEWIDE.

BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH ACTIVATING LOCAL CAPACITY: WITH A DUAL FOCUS ON INCREASING LOCAL COMMUNITY CAPACITY AND ENHANCING THE DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE CONNECTED TO CONSERVATION, THE ORGANIZATION CREATED A STATEWIDE RESILIENCE SERVICE NETWORK. USING DATA-DRIVEN GIS MAPS TO IDENTIFY COMMUNITIES IN GREATEST NEED, THE ORGANIZATION COORDINATES THE PLACEMENT OF AMERICORPS SERVICE MEMBERS TO HELP IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-LED PLANS THAT ADDRESS CLIMATE-RELATED CHALLENGES. THE ORGANIZATION HIRES AND TRAINS AMERICORPS MEMBERS AND ASSISTS LOCAL SUPERVISORS SO AS TO BEST LEVERAGE THE SKILLS OF MEMBERS IN BUILDING LOCAL COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.