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The Vision of Our Water, Our Land
The Triangle's
growing population is fueling our economy, but it is also changing
our landscape as we develop more land to accommodate growth.
We are losing our farmland and forests at an unprecedented rate.
Between 1997 and 2002, 40 acres of open space were lost each day to
development—14,000 acres per year. In that same period, 2,400 acres
per year were conserved.
We must do more to balance conservation with economic development and growth to
maintain, or even improve, our quality of life.
Through creative partnerships with
other organizations, communities, and local and state governments, TLC
has protected 10,000 acres in scores of sites across the Triangle region
since 1983. We have leveraged $5 in public funding for every $1
raised privately for land protection.
Our goal for Our Water, Our Land
is to turn the $5.5 million in private money raised through the
campaign into $30 million, so we can better address the critical
threats to our parks and farmlands, our forests and rivers, our
water and air — indeed, to our way of life.
TLC believes achieving a balance
between developed and protected land means ultimately conserving
more than 45,000 acres of the most critical forests, farms, and
natural areas in our six-county region. To realize our vision, we:
- Identify the most significant and threatened lands;
- Plan with local governments, organizations, and individuals for the
timely and appropriate protection of these lands;
- Conserve these lands through purchase or private conservation
agreements;
- Manage these lands; and
- Promote positive conservation approaches and the protection of
open space.
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