Good Things Come in Threes

TLC and partners conserve three tracts, 337 acres in Mark's Creek Wetlands

Published May 2006

Water spills over rocks at the 24-acre Edgerton Heirs tract.

(Raleigh, NC) – Momentum is building for the public-nonprofit partnership working to conserve an Umstead State Park-sized area of eastern Wake and northern Johnston counties.

On Monday, May 1, the partners—TLC, Wake County Parks, Recreation & Open Space and The Trust for Public Land—finalized the third of three recent acquisitions in the area southeast of Raleigh. The three tracts, all now owned by Wake County as part of its open space inventory, total 337 acres.

The Wake County Commissioners approved funding and acquisition of the three tracts, known as the Edgerton Heirs, Margaret Williamson and Fuller tracts, in November 2005 and April 2006.

The Tracts

The Fuller tract is 119 acres, a mix of hardwood and pine forestland and open agricultural fields tucked between Poole and Lake Myra roads. Two tributaries that feed directly into Mark’s Creek define the property boundary on the west and south sides for a total of 6,000 feet (about 1.1 miles) of stream frontage. The cost of the land is $2,728,858. The transaction was completed on May 1.

The Margaret Williamson tract, 194 acres, lies about a half-mile southwest, bordering Mark’s Creek and straddling Bissette Road. It’s purchase price was $2,835,600. The Williamson tract contains more than 6,500 feet (about a mile and a quarter) of stream frontage on Mark’s Creek and tributaries and 15 acres of wetland. The transaction was completed on April 12.

The Edgerton Heirs tract, 24 acres, fronts on Turnipseed Road and backs up to Sandy Branch just before it empties into Mark’s Creek. It provides buffer to about 1,000 feet (two-tenths of a mile) of frontage on Sandy Branch, and is adjacent to a 31-acre tract previously protected by the partners. The cost for conserving it was $291,000. The transaction was completed on March 30.

View a map of the properties.

View a map of the Mark's Creek Rural Lands.

In addition to helping to meet the partners’ conservation goals for open space and wildlife habitat, the stream buffers provided by the acquisition of these lands will contribute to the protection of Wake County’s water quality. The partners also anticipate that these lands are the beginning of an assemblage of tracts that will provide connectively along Mark’s Creek between Lake Myra and the Neuse River.

“Through the Mark’s Creek Rural Lands Program, we’re committed, along with Triangle Land Conservancy, to protecting as much of these critical lands as we can,” said David Proper, Raleigh Office Director for The Trust for Public Land. “We’ve got all the right ingredients: solid partners, a thoughtful strategy, and a supportive community that really cares about preserving their natural and cultural heritage.”

How It Worked

In the partnership arrangement, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) purchased the tracts and transferred ownership to Wake County, which used Open Space Bond money to secure the properties. The land now becomes part of the county’s open space inventory managed by the Department of Parks, Recreation & Open Space (Wake PROS).

Triangle Land Conservancy has submitted and managed grant applications to the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund to reimburse Wake County for part of the cost of the purchases.

Funding has already been approved for two of the purchases, with state funds to reimburse Wake County for $190,000 of the Edgerton purchase (Wake County pays $110,000) and $970,000 of the Williamson purchase (Wake County pays about $1.83 million). The Fuller tract also qualifies for matching funds from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund; funding will be sought by the partners in the next application cycle.

“Wake County and our Board of Commissioners love partnerships, and we recognize this area represents one of the best opportunities left in our county to provide large tracts of permanently protected open space,” said Kurt W. Smith, Open Space Program Manager of Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space. “This property will meet so many of our immediate needs and long term interests for our community.”

The acquisitions are part of the Mark’s Creek Rural Lands Initiative established by the three organizations to conserve land along Mark’s Creek from Lake Myra to the confluence of Mark’s Creek and the Neuse River. The goal is to protect land for water quality protection, wildlife habitat, rural character, and low-impact recreation.

The statewide Mountains to Sea Trail is slated to follow the Neuse River through this area, and plans call for a spur trail along Mark’s Creek up to Lake Myra. The three towns that circle the Mark’s Creek area (Knightdale, Wendell and Clayton) have identified parkland, open space and greenways connecting to the area. A national group, Scenic America, recognized the area as a “Last Chance Landscape” in 2003.

“These acquisitions represent a great step forward in fulfilling the vision for creating a large core of conservation lands connected by greenways to the neighboring communities,” said Kevin Brice, executive director of Triangle Land Conservancy. “I’m very excited about the momentum we’re building to conserve this area that has been referred to as the ‘Hope Diamond of Open Space.’”

Partnership Progress

The partners have now acquired four properties totaling 368 acres for conservation in the area at a cost of $5,563,600; Wake County has paid $4,243,600 from its open space bonds and leveraged $1,160,000 to date from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and $160,000 from the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program. One conservation easement on privately owned land adds another 10.5 acres to the conservation effort in the area, at a cost to Wake County of $51,000.

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) paid for a conservation study of the area led by Triangle Land Conservancy in 2001 that provides the background research for the partners’ work. CWMTF is interested in funding conservation projects in the area because of the high quality of the water and the critical aquatic habitat it provides to numerous sensitive species. The NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) also is interested in funding projects here for the same reasons; EEP funded the partners’ first acquisition in the area, a 31-acre tract on Turnipseed Road acquired in late 2004 for $160,000.

Negotiations with other landowners in the Mark’s Creek Rural Lands continues, and CWMTF funding is already approved for one additional acquisition.

Triangle Land Conservancy is a private, nonprofit group that conserves important open space—stream corridors, forests, wildlife habitat, farmland and natural areas—to help keep our region a healthy and vibrant place to live and work. TLC’s 56 protected sites in Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Johnston, and Lee counties encompass more than 7,500 acres, including several preserves open to visitors year-round. TLC is primarily funded by individual contributions and memberships, plus grants from foundations, state government and corporations.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), founded in 1972, is a national private nonprofit conservation organization that protects land for people to enjoy as parks, greenways, community gardens, urban playgrounds, and wilderness. Across the nation, TPL has saved more than 1.9 million acres of land. In North Carolina, TPL has helped protect more than 11,000 acres including over 1,000 critically needed open space acres in Wake County. For more information, see www.tpl.org.