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TLC purchased 760 acres in 2003, then sought state funding to pay for the land. One of the state funding mechanisms (NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund) required that the land be owned by the state. TLC transferred ownership of the 760 acres to the NC Division of State Parks in 2005. TLC assisted the state in purchasing a 110-acre inholding in 2006.
With about 1 mile of Deep River frontage and several tributary creeks that total about 6 miles of stream frontage, the Justice Lands provides an excellent water quality protection buffer on the Deep, which is tapped downstream for drinking water for Sanford and Lee County. The Deep River here is home to a federally endangered fish species, the Cape Fear shiner, which relies on good water quality for its survival. Eleven miles downstream, a stretch of the Cape Fear River is designated by the state as a High Quality Water.
Justice Lands also comes close to providing a protected land link between the Deep River and the protected land around Jordan Lake. Completing the connection would ensure a safe wildlife corridor between these two important waters and habitats, and possibly could provide a recreation corridor as well.
The 870-acre Justice Lands includes at least three distinct forest types - upland pines, upland hardwoods, and bottomland hardwoods - providing habitat for a tremendous array of native wildlife.
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