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North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and Partners Protect Important Habitat in Carteret County, North Carolina
Enviva Forest Conservation Fund at Work
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (June 24, 2019)
Greenville, S.C. and Durham, N.C. – Nearly 5,500 acres of wetlands, critical pocosin, Carolina bay, bottomland hardwood forests, and Long Bay and Salters Creek water frontage have been acquired by the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust (NCCLT) in partnership with Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). The project was made possible thanks to the support of a multiple funding entities, including the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund (“the Fund”).
Referred to as Salters Creek landing, the property lies adjacent to the Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge and across Long Bay from the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS)-Cherry Point’s Piney Island military installation. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program considers the property, along with the neighboring Cedar Island National Wildlife refuge, to be a natural area of exceptional ecological significance. This project will conserve habitat for 23 rare plants and animals including five federally listed species, three federal species of concern along with 15 state species of concern.
“If you take a boat from the landing off Highway 12 at Salters Creek and head north, you will travel over 17 miles to navigate this amazing property and you will see estuarine marsh tucked in tidal creeks fringed with maritime forest. Wildlife abounds and all sorts of waterfowl from diving ducks to tundra swans as well as herons, egrets, rails and shorebirds can be spotted in the marsh and mudflats. The beautiful pocosin, Carolina bay and bottomland forests are host to a barrage of birds and mammals” stated Janice Allen, Deputy Director for the NCCLT.
The project will protect a large portion of the Atlantic Natural Area located along NC Highway 12. NCCLT plans to transfer approximately 5,170 acres to NC Wildlife Resources to be managed as public game lands and adjacent to a public boat ramp. NCCLT will retain 311 acres to be managed as a nature preserve.
This conservation initiative will conserve a diversity of wetland and upland forests and habitats in a growing conservation corridor through a military, state, and non-profit partnership. According to the climate model from one of the largest U.S. conservation organizations, the property ranks above average for climate resiliency. “The conservation of critical forests requires the involvement of multiple actors from across the public, private, and nongovernment sectors; both to secure the opportunities and to carry out the conservation work needed to protect these cherished landscapes now and into perpetuity” said Carlton Owen, President and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities which administers the Fund.
The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund was launched in December of 2015 by Enviva, the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets. After three years of a planned 10-year partnership, 17 projects have been funded, committing more than $2.0 million. When these projects are completed, an estimated 24,500 acres of sensitive wetland forest and other habitats will have been protected.
About North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Founded in 1992, the mission of the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust is to enrich the coastal communities of North Carolina through conservation of natural areas and working landscapes, education, and the promotion of good land stewardship. The Coastal Land Trust has become the largest land trust geographically in the state of North Carolina, serving 31 counties along the entire coastal plain. The Coastal Land Trust is committed to saving and restoring special places in the coastal plain like barrier islands, nature parks and preserves, family farms, and longleaf pine forests. To learn more about the Coastal Land Trust, please visit their website at www.coastallandtrust.org.
About the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund is a $5 million, 10-year program established by Enviva Holdings, LP in December 2015 to permanently protect environmentally sensitive bottomland and wetland forests. Administered by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Fund awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations and government agencies for conservation projects in North Carolina and Virginia. The next grant cycle will begin in late 2019. To learn more about the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, please visit envivaforestfund.org.
About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
The U.S.
Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit
public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private
sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the
health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant
communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.
For more information contact:
Alicia Cramer, Senior Vice President, 205-792-8650, alicia@runslikeclock.work
Enviva Forest Conservation Fund Awards 2019 Grants
Expands restoration and conservation of sensitive forest ecosystems and wetlands
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (June 6, 2019)
Bethesda, Md. and Greenville, SC – The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund (the Fund) today announced the recipients of its 2019 suite of grants. The projects funded will help conserve a total of more than 7,450 acres and protect ecologically sensitive bottomland forests in the coastal regions of Virginia and North Carolina.
“The mid-Atlantic region is one of the most biodiverse and beautiful in the nation, which is why it’s so important to work with local conservation organizations to ensure the health and future of these forests and watersheds,” said Enviva Chairman and CEO, John Keppler. “While we know that robust forest markets such as ours are the key to healthy forests, we also recognize there are places of high conservation value that need to be preserved and protected, and we are pleased to work with this year’s grantees to work toward that common goal.”
The 2019 Enviva Forest Conservation Fund grant recipients include:
- The Virginia Outdoors Foundation: A permanent conservation easement will be placed on two adjacent tracts of Bottomland Hardwood Forests in Southampton County, Virginia. The parcels are rated as “very high” for forest conservation by the Virginia Department of Forestry. The protection of these acres will provide water quality benefits for the Nottoway River and two additional threatened and endangered waters (Racoon Creek & Three Creek). Several state-listed mussel species and nine rare vascular plant species will benefit from this conservation initiative.
- N.C. Coastal Land Trust, in partnership with N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Marine Corps Air Station: This project will conserve a diversity of wetland and upland habitats in a growing conservation corridor through a military, state, and non-profit partnership. Referred to as the Salters Creek Landing project, more than 5,490 acres of land and over 11 miles of waterfront will be protected in Carteret County, North Carolina through a fee simple acquisition.
- Three Rivers Land Trust: A total of 500 high priority acres within the Barnes Creek/Poison Fork Watershed will be protected via an easement. The acreage falls within the Greater Uwharrie region of the North Carolina Piedmont, which is considered a priority landscape by the conservation community. Most of the property is bottomland hardwood forest adjacent to the Uwharrie National Forest.
- Tar River Land Conservancy: A fee simple purchase will protect approximately 200 acres of which 81 acres are considered flood plain forest in Granville County, North Carolina. The property is located on the Tar River, a waterway that has historically been impacted by East Coast hurricanes. This acquisition will help protect habitat for 15 at-risk species documented in the Tar River near the purchased tract.
“The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund continues to support long-term conservation, enhancement of biological diversity, and ecosystem sustainability within the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia,” said Endowment President and CEO, Carlton Owen. “We continue to be impressed by the quality of projects and know that future generations will have the opportunity to value the contributions made possible by the Fund.”
Including those announced today, the Fund has awarded 17 projects totaling almost $2 million in grants over the past four years. An estimated 24,044 acres will have been protected when all of this year’s projects reach completion. The forests conserved as a part of the Fund help clean drinking water, purify the air, buffer structures from storms, and provide habitat for many species of wildlife, while at the same time providing jobs and economic opportunity for rural families and private landowners.
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About the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund is a $5 million, 10-year program established by Enviva Holdings, L.P. in December 2015 to permanently protect environmentally sensitive bottomland and wetland forests. Administered by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Fund awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations and government agencies for conservation projects in North Carolina and Virginia. The next grant cycle will begin in late 2019. To learn more about the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, please visit envivaforestfund.org.
About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.
Media Contacts:
Yonina Mrose, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations, Enviva Holdings L.P., (240) 482-3811, yonina.mrose@envivabiomass.com
Alicia Cramer, Senior Vice President, U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, (205) 792-8650 , alicia@runslikeclock.work
–Not Surprisingly Gains Depend Upon Willingness to Change —
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (JUNE 5, 2019)
In 2016 the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (“Endowment”) and Region 8 of the USDA. Forest Service commissioned a scoping study to identify the challenges facing log transportation businesses in the Southeast and opportunities for improving productivity. The study found, among other issues, limited understanding of the opportunity costs of inefficient haulage.
Over 2017 and 2018 the Endowment commissioned various partners to conduct a baseline study with a well-run wood supplier to model gains from a fleet improvement scenario. The initial work led to a comprehensive analysis testing incorporation of technology and process improvements using a central fleet dispatching approach common in other transportation sectors.
The results of the study can be found here. The Endowment’s project lead, Alicia Cramer, noted that “There are enormous opportunities to improve system efficiencies, yet technology alone will not deliver results. Our work confirms that a cultural change is required that includes not only openness to incorporating state of the art technology but also a desire and willingness to try and adopt new practices.”
“The Endowment is committed to helping the most fragmented link in the wood products supply chain – timber harvesting and hauling We are working with several state logging associations, the Southern Logging Cooperative and multiple technology providers to help the sector enhance viability,” stated Carlton Owen, President and CEO of the Endowment.
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For
more information contact:
Alicia Cramer, 205-792-8650, Alicia@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and
Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working
collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance
systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of
the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org
Join the Aspen Institute Monday 6/10 at 1:30 ET/10:30 PT for the next America’s Rural Opportunity Live Stream: Tension as Catalyst: Land Stewardship and Development Align for a Better Rural West #ruralinnovation Register: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/aro10/ via @aspeninstitute
The event will showcase how three western rural communities, in partnership with community-based intermediary organizations, are setting a new standard with their unwavering commitment to inclusive community, joint investment, and enduring ecological and economic solutions.