Located in northern Durham County, Horton Grove Preserve lies adjacent to the Falls Lake buffer on the lower Flat River. More than five miles of small streams feed into the lower Flat and from there into Falls Lake. The land also includes a large portion of the Lake Michie Slopes natural heritage site, a large hardwood forest tract that provides homes for many species — including wild turkey, pileated woodpecker and falcate orangetip butterfly — that require the deep forest that is disappearing so rapidly in our region.

In addition to protecting water quality in Falls Lake, the project enhances the protection of the Lake Michie Slopes natural heritage site and builds on a wildlife corridor connecting protected lands along the Flat River, Lake Michie, Falls Lake and the Little River Reservoir.