Our Water, Our Land Places: Haw River

In November 2006, campaign gifts secured the protection of the Pegg tract, 82 acres of woodlands along the Haw River, while TLC applied for state funding for the $1.2 million property, which was owned by the NC Botanical Garden.  The land is now part of the Lower Haw River State Natural Area, thanks to a unique collaboration between the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the Haw River Assembly, TLC and the state.

Located on the northeast bank of the river between US 15-501 South and Moore Mountain Road, the parcel protects about 2,000 feet of frontage on the Haw and another 3,400 feet of buffer on both sides of two small tributaries. With Pittsboro’s drinking water intake directly across the river, these buffers will help protect the community’s drinking water supply.  A parking area on US 15-501 South provides a path to this popular fishing spot and an access point for canoes and kayaks.

This acquisition is the result of a generous gift from Eleanor Smith Pegg, who donated the 82-acre tract to the Botanical Garden Foundation in 2004. The foundation was instructed to sell the property and use $1 million of the proceeds to help fund a new visitor education center and allocate any additional proceeds to establishing a scholarship fund at UNC-Chapel Hill. After almost two years of negotiations, the state purchased the property. TLC negotiated the purchase and secured $750,000 from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and $450,000 from the NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund for the acquisition. Mrs. Pegg has been a generous TLC supporter, as she donated a 74-acre Orange County tract to the organization in 1995.

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