LAND PRESERVATION

There’s been a lot of talk lately in Charlotte about the value of older buildings and what we should do to save them, spurred by the Excelsior Club’s possible sale and demolition. For a fast-growing city with leaders who have long been spurred by the promise of more development and an ever-bigger, ever-shinier skyline, it […]

When you think of rare species, your mind might turn to majestic tigers, ferocious grizzly bears or majestic elephants. But how often do you think of bogs, sandbars and the slimy rocks coated in spray? A recent Natural Heritage Program Rare Plant and Natural Communities Workshop in Hendersonville highlighted theimportance of these unusual ecosystems for […]

During a whirlwind visit to Fort Fisher this month, I sped by the historic bunkers and raced through the N.C. Aquarium. My husband and I were on foot, on a mission to catch the next ferry to Southport, but the sight of white-bracted sedge spilling from the humble ditches along Highway 421 stopped me in […]

Most people who visit the Uwharrie region for recreation probably know about spots like the Uwharrie Trail and Morrow Mountain State Park. Or maybe you’re used to driving west, to Crowders Mountain State Park. However, there are a lot of lesser-known gems in the region that many tourists miss out on, and some that even […]

Wildlife habitat comes in all shapes and sizes, as does opportunity for improving it. The rural nature of the Uwharries and other areas around Charlotte allows us to restore grasslands and forests on a landscape scale, but the same management techniques have also proven successful on smaller parcels in urban parks and nature preserves. One […]

“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” President John F. Kennedy To say that agriculture is important in North Carolina would be an obvious understatement. Agriculture and agribusiness, including food, forestry, and fiber, is the number one industry […]

Some birds fly thousands of miles to the pine stands and fields around Charlotte. So why not take a short drive to go see them? The Three Rivers Land Trust held our eighth annual Uwharrie Naturalist Day on May 4, and hosted a birdwatching event on our Smith Branch Longleaf Preserve in Montgomery County. The […]

Charlotte won’t reach its goal of tree canopy covering 50 percent of the city by 2050, officials said last week. Instead, the city is planning to focus on smaller, neighborhood-level targets and “fifty-themed” initiatives to promote trees. “It’s still possible to reach 50 percent, but it would be extremely challenging,” said city arborist Tim Porter, […]

In the midst of a torrent of growth, new residents and construction, Charlotte’s planning director is hoping the city can find a comprehensive vision for what it should look like in two decades. Taiwo Jaiyeoba is leading the Charlotte Future 2040 comprehensive planning effort. It’s an ambitious project with the goal of creating the city’s […]

I recently stumbled on an especially interesting habitat while exploring the flora and fauna on a site that once held granite quarries. I was with Crystal Cockman from the LandTrust for Central North Carolina and Nell Allen from the North Carolina Zoo. Today trees and luscious foliage cover the property just east of Salisbury. But […]