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Justice!

TLC Purchases 760 Acres on the Deep River

With the vision of a state park in mind and with state grant funding in hand, Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) on Monday, July 14, completed the largest land deal in its 20 year history, purchasing a 760-acre property on the Deep River near Moncure for roughly $3 million dollars.

TLC purchased the property from the Justice family of Chatham County after several years of negotiations. Kate Dixon, TLC's long-time executive director who stepped down in July after 11 years at the helm, led TLC's negotiations along with Land Protection Specialist Jeff Masten.

“Whenever my children and grandchildren enjoy the forests and river at this magnificent place, I will remember Kate Dixon and what she and TLC accomplished,” said D.G. Martin, interim executive director of TLC.

Jack Justice, the patriarch of the family, told TLC that he decided to sell the land rather than dividing it among his children. His father and uncle purchased the land in the 1950s. The family used the property for timber, most recently cutting in the early 1980s, and has been leasing the property to a small hunting club for about 25 years. The hunting club has done an admirable job of maintaining the small system of dirt roads that provide access to every corner of the property.

The NC Division of Parks and Recreation has identified the Deep River Corridor among 47 sites in the state as a potential addition to the state parks system in its New Parks for a New Century vision. TLC will work cooperatively with the Division as it moves forward on implementing that vision, with the Justice land and other TLC properties on the Deep River as potential parkland.

TLC will continue to lease the land to the hunting club in the near-term. For the long-term, TLC will bring together a study group to identify appropriate management options for the property until it becomes part of a future Deep River state park.

TLC has received commitment from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund for $1.8 million towards the land purchase. TLC has two-and-a-half years to raise the additional $1.5 million to pay for the land and interest. Planning for a fundraising campaign is underway.

TLC has been receiving contributions that will be directed to this campaign in honor of Kate Dixon's long-time leadership. (Learn more about the "In Honor of Kate" fund.)

“We are thrilled to be able to protect this wonderful place on the Deep River for the families of the Triangle region, and we look forward to seeking their support to help us complete the purchase,” said Liz Rooks, Triangle Land Conservancy president.

The purchase brings TLC’s total land protection along the Deep River in Lee and Chatham counties to 2,094 acres – almost as much land as is currently included in the Eno River State Park (about 2,600 acres). The Deep River is one of the organization’s five Priority Areas for protection across its six-county service region.

	Justice in the news TLC News, August 2003 Road off the Beaten Path Leads to Justice Lands News & Observer Deep River land to be saved The Sanford Herald TLC purchases 750 more acres along Deep River News 14 Carolina Land conservation group makes major buy Herald-Sun 760-acre Chatham river tract preserved

	A rocky stretch of the Deep River at the Justice land


	Beaver pond in the bottomland forest of the Justice land


	A once-fallen sycamore survived to send two trunks skyward off this massive 50-inch diameter main trunk


	Trees shade the Deep River at the Justice land

One of TLC’s main goals in its Priority Areas is to protect water quality by providing natural buffers between streams and human uses. On the Justice tract, TLC will provide buffer on almost 1 mile of Deep River, and on 6 additional miles of perennial and intermittent streams.

These buffers help to protect the water quality of the Deep River, 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.

Another of TLC’s goals is to create connections between protected green spaces. With the Justice property, TLC comes close to connecting the Deep River with protected land around Jordan Lake. Completing the connection would ensure a safe wildlife corridor between these two important waters and habitats. The possibility of a recreation connection between Deep River and Jordan Lake also exists.

One recreation option is canoeing. The Deep River between Chatham and Lee counties has become a popular canoeing destination for paddlers from all over central North Carolina. Good public access is available at regular intervals, allowing for manageable trip lengths of six to eight miles. And the Deep, named perhaps not for the depth of its water but for the depth the river rests inside its high banks, remains paddleable year-round, unlike other Triangle-area rivers. With only occasional Class 1 rapids, the Deep is not a destination for those seeking whitewater thrills, but it does make for a great family-oriented getaway.