TAKE ACTION!
Support Land & Water Conservation Fund

Congress has an opportunity this week to approve full and dedicated funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund - an instrumental resource in helping to save the places you love in North Carolina and nationwide.

Congress created the LWCF in 1965 to provide long-term protection of the natural places that are so important to us as Americans. It is authorized to receive a very small percentage of revenue from offshore leases for oil and gas - $900 million a year. But for most of its history, much of that funding has been diverted.

We need your voice! Take part in our Action Alert to ask your US senators and representative to support legislation to provide full and dedicated funding to LWCF.

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Parkway view, habitat protected

Another 35 acres of breathtaking views from the Blue Ridge Parkway have been protected with the purchase of land on Mount Lyn Lowry.

CTNC recently acquired the land next to 6,000-foot Browning Knob, on the Parkway near Waynesville. The tract - which Executive Director Reid Wilson notes is "small in size but large in importance" - is home to a variety of native wildlife and contains a portion of a state Significant Natural Area due to its undisturbed plant communities. It is near a number of other protected tracts and falls within one of the conservation vision focus areas targeted by the Blue Ridge Forever coalition.

CTNC plans to convey the property to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Parkway's boundaries.

Read more about this newly protected property in Jackson County.

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Helping to save America's Great Outdoors

CTNC staff, interns and supporters joined conservation allies and outdoor enthusiasts to tell representatives of President Obama how they'd like to save and celebrate America's Great Outdoors.

Several hundred people took part in a listening session in Asheville - part of a nationwide series of such events - to share success stories, seek help and offer ideas to the federal government as the Obama Administration comes up with a strategy to protect our nation's uniquely beautiful natural areas and get more people outside to enjoy them. Participating agencies will report to the president in November about what they've learned.

Executive Director Reid Wilson participated in a news conference, reception and tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway with the visitors to show how North Carolina's conservation successes can serve as a model for other states and the federal government.

Read our report on the Asheville AGO events.

And visit our page on the America's Great Outdoors Initiative to see how you can take part in the conservation conversation.

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Protected Parkway land to gain 110 acres

A man who grew up alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway is helping CTNC protect more of its beloved views, sparkling streams and lush forest landscapes.

Joe Arrington has just helped CTNC protect 110 acres of land his family has owned in Haywood County since 1936 - the year after work began on the scenic highway. As construction neared his childhood home, Arrington and his friends explored the work site, leading to a lifelong fascination with the road.

Now, his generosity means generations of young people will cherish their own Parkway memories of the property now called Richland Creek Headwaters. CTNC is working with the National Park Service in hopes of adding the land to the official Blue Ridge Parkway corridor before the Parkway's 75th anniversary in September.

Read more about Richland Creek Headwaters and a landowner who is helping CTNC save the places you love.

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