New Partnerships - Fall 2018

COASTAL LANd TruST NEw pArTNErShIpS

are key in all we do.”

Janice Allen Deputy Director, Coastal Land Trust

LANd TruST OpENS prESErvE fOr MOuNTAINS-TO-SEA hIkErS

Coastal Land Trust has formed a new partnership with Friends of the Mountainsto-Sea Trail (MST) that will take hikers from the coast to the mountains! Through this partnership, Coastal Land Trust will open its Everett Creek Preserve in Onslow County to MST hikers. MST hikers can now enjoy not only a stop at Everett Creek

OCrACOkE

NATurE wALk pLANS IN pLACE

“Having three non-profits coming together along with a Federal Government entity for the benefit of our visitors and local residents is pretty cool,” said Greg Honeycutt. Greg is spearheading the Coastal Land Trust’s efforts to raise money for the Ocracoke Nature Walk.

The Coastal Land Trust is partnering

Say “Hornets, Harriers, and Osprey” and the first thing that likely comes to mind is winged creatures. But here in Eastern North Carolina, it likely refers to some of the aircraft flown by our omnipotent military. Training troops and pilots for real world combat is the obvious focus of our military bases. However, believe it or not, some installations also regularly work

with state natural resources agencies and/or conservation organizations to protect land for wildlife and/or water quality enhancement.

Why? Starting in the late 1990’s, the Department of Defense became increasingly concerned about

One of the Coastal Land Trust’s more unusual partnerships is with Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation to help save Reaves Chapel in the Brunswick County town of Navassa.

Reaves Chapel is one of the oldest African Methodist Episcopal churches in the area. It was built during the 1880’s at a popular stop along the Cape Fear River. It was the mission church for the Cedar Hill Planation and the descendants of Gullah Geechee people who worked on the rice plantation. When Mount Misery and Cedar Hill roads were built, roads, not the river became the main mode of transportation. With logs and

“Partners

Tim Supple, volunteer with friends of the Mountainsto-Sea Trail, assists Coastal Land Trust with new agreement to allow camping at its Everett Creek preserve.

Seymour Johnson AFB, continued on page 7

Ocracoke, continued on page 4

Everett Creek, continued on page 2

Denise Evans, front left, touring the Salmon Creek property, with staff members Camilla Herlevich and Lee Leidy on the left. Across, on the right, are Misty Buchanan of N.C. Natural Heritage Program and John Finnegan of NC State Parks.

Preserve along their trek, but also tent camping in designated camp sites at the Preserve by making prior reservations through MST. A Friends volunteer will provide MST hikers with access into and out of the gated Preserve.

“Thanks to Coastal Land Trust for allowing hikers to camp at Everett Creek Preserve,” said Kate Dixon, Friends’ Executive Director. “MST hikers treasure the chance to see and experience North Carolina’s natural wonders, and the Preserve will help them understand what makes Onslow County so special.”

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail, also known as North Carolina’s state hiking trail, stretches 1175 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Stopping points include many of the state’s most beautiful places along the way, with the latest being the Coastal Land Trust’s Everett Creek Preserve!

Friends of MST is a nonprofit organization with a

the expanding trail.

For an interactive map of the trail and information on trail segments, guides, and updates, visit mountainstoseatrail.org.

The Coastal Land Trust welcomes the opportunity to expand this state-wide network of trails and open Everett Creek Preserve for use by MST hikers. Come, hike, and enjoy!

growing community of members and volunteers who support the trail, an official unit of the State Park System, by building and maintaining the trail, encouraging communities to create new sections of the trail, and helping people to hike

SuN JOurNAL rECOgNIzES TwO COASTAL LANd TruST LEAdErS

The New Bern Sun Journal’s “52 Faces in Community” is a weekly feature in the New Bern Sun Journal and on its website, NewBernSJ.com/52, that honors local residents – volunteers and unsung heroes – whose daily activities are making an impact in the Craven County community. Nominations come from peers, friends and non-profit leaders.

Lovay WallaceSingleton

Military service runs in Lovay’s family. She is equally passionate about veterans and gardening. She founded the Veteran Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden (VEBCOG), a nonprofit community garden she established to benefit both veterans and Craven County. The main goal of the garden is to take the skill-set that the

develop it by

Nature Trivia

(A) Pasquotank River (B) Waccamaw River (C) White Oak River

Carol Mattocks

Carol has always possessed a passion for child welfare. The New Bern Sun Journal quotes her as saying her last “paying job” was District Administrator of the Guardian ad Litem program, which advocates for abused children in court. Later she became the first chair of the Mediation Center of Eastern Carolina and has served on the Craven County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. As a current board member of the United Way, she is tackling the

Coastal Land Trust

30 years ago

Board v ice- p resident p aul h osier Author of Book on Seacoast p lants

The University of North Carolina Press has published “Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas: A New Guide for Plant Identification and Use in the Coastal Landscape” by Wilmington resident (and Coastal Land Trust Board VicePresident) Paul E. Hosier, PhD.

The 492-page paperback profiles more than 200 plants found in North and South Carolina with color photographs and information about identification, value to wildlife, relationship to natural communities, propagation, and landscape use.

Paul covers such topics as invasive plants and the benefits of using native plants in local landscaping. One special section looks at the impact of climate change on the coastal region and its plant life.

The book is intended for use by the ordinary gardener and amateur nature lover. A glossary covers plant names and scientific terms. A professor emeritus of botany at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Hosier was a longtime provost of the University before his retirement.

issue of substance abuse. Carol, a long-time

supporter, moved with her husband Bob to New Bern

and continues to make an impact on the community.

disabled/homeless veteran has acquired and

working in a relaxing outdoor environment. Lovay is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Coastal Land Trust.

Plymouth Gentian (Sabatia kennedyana), a flower in the gentian family, has a very limited and disjunct range. It is known from Novia Scotia in Canada, and then in Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, North and South Carolina. In North Carolina, it has been recorded only in small patches along which of our Coastal Plain rivers?

Photo by Dale Suiter of US Fish and Wildlife Service

Land Trust Interns

Intern Conner Burke

Conner Burke grew up in Roanoke, VA, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains where she fell in love with the outdoors. A senior at George Mason University, Conner will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in environmental and sustainability studies with a concentration in climate change and society.

Her interest in the Coastal Land Trust came from her desire to preserve the natural environment. During her internship, she worked on a variety of projects, including monitoring preserves and constructing management plans.

Intern Raquel Bensadoun

Raquel Bensadoun was born in São Paulo, Brazil and raised in South Florida. She is a master of environmental management candidate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

This summer, Raquel assisted in land conservation efforts, focusing on land stewardship, restoration, and monitoring. She conducted a coastal resilience spatial analysis on the

prioritize conservation efforts.

with the Ocracoke Youth Center, the National Park Service and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to build the Ocracoke Nature Walk. The Nature Walk will complement the Coastal Land Trust’s Springer’s Point Preserve and provide another educational and recreational opportunity for the community.

The Ocracoke Community Park at its inception had a walking trail identified as a long range goal but not funded. Part of the marsh area belonging to the park will provide an easier and less costly access to Loop Shack Hill, the site of a World War II radar station.

The pedestrian nature walk will be constructed through the Coastal Land Trust’s Ocracoke Wetlands Preserve. The Nature Walk will connect the Ocracoke Community Park to the National Park Service’s Loop Shack Hill site. Loop Shack Hill is a part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The 1/4 mile nature walk will be built over a portion of

The elevated nature walk will be constructed of concrete panels on a timber pile foundation, with handrails, four benches, an observation platform, and interpretive environmental signage.

“Having Cape Hatteras National Seashore as a partner may be the most important component,” Greg said. The Park Service plans to construct a walking path through Loop Shack Hill. It will also provide a historical narrative from the elevated walkway highlighting the history of this former US Navy installation that monitored German U-boats and other clandestine underwater activity off the coast.

The “Loop Shack” was the control base for a magnetic cable loop that ran approximately 16 miles off shore. Today only the crumbling base of the radar tower and the remains of several concrete block communications buildings stand as silent reminders of the important role Ocracoke played during World War II.

Park Service Superintendent Dave Hallac is identifying land that could be used for parking for folks accessing the Ocracoke Nature Walk from NC Highway 12 “This makes the project so much better.” Greg said.

Cape Fear Arch and Salter’s Creek to help

Raquel holding a yellow-bellied slider (turtle) found at the Coastal Land Trust’s Waccamaw River Preserve.

marshland the Ocracoke Preservation Society donated to the Coastal Land Trust by in 2015.

Ocracoke, continued from page 1

ANSwEr: B. Plymouth Gentian has been found

patches along the Waccamaw River, including on our new Waccamaw River Partnership (Waters of Wacccamaw) property.

Conner shows off a snake skin she found at the Coastal Land Trust’s Gales Creek Preserve in Onslow County.

Architect’s rendering of the Nature Walk from the Ocracoke Ball Field to Loop Shack Hill, far right.

prOJECT wOw!

The Coastal Land Trust is proud to have saved 3,000 acres of wetlands, critical bottomland hardwood forests, and seven miles of Waccamaw River frontage. The Waters of Waccamaw project was made possible thanks to a partnership with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the support of a dozen partnering organizations and funders.

“The Waccamaw River is special in more ways than you can count,” said Janice Allen, the Coastal Land Trust’s Deputy Director. “It contains beautiful and extensive cypress swamps and blackwater bottomland hardwood forests. And it’s truly unique due to its rare water chemistry and geology. Many of the plants and animals that flourish in the Waccamaw are found nowhere else on earth.”

One of the Southeast’s wildest and most beautiful rivers, the Waccamaw River runs approximately 140 miles across southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina. It is a sportsman’s, birder’s, and paddler’s paradise that is designated as the Waccamaw River Blue Trail.

The property is across the river from 28,000 acres of the

State Game Lands, which connect to 17,000 acres of The Nature Conservancy’s Green Swamp Preserve. As a result, this property is one of the largest conservation corridors in the state of North Carolina.

The Coastal Land Trust transferred approximately 1,000 acres of the property to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to be added to the public Columbus County Game Lands. Coastal Land Trust will retain and manage the remaining 2,000 acres as a nature preserve.

The Coastal Land Trust brought a dozen funding partners together to make this project a reality. Beginning with funds from a 2012 judicial settlement of a Clean Water Act case brought by the U. S. Attorney, the Coastal Land Trust eventually secured grants

Coastal Land Trust and Partners Save 3,000 Acres Along the Waccamaw River

from a total of 12 different funders including the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act program (two grants), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (two grants, one through the North Carolina and Virginia River and Waters program, and one through Walmart’s Acres for America program), NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, NC Wildlife Resources Commission (a federal Coastal Wetlands Conservation program grant), Fred and Alice Stanback, NC Attorney

General’s Environmental Enhancement Grant program, Open Space Institute, Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, The Conservation Alliance, and Merck Family Fund. The Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® was also instrumental in the project’s success by providing numerous letters of support.

“The Coastal Land Trust is grateful to all these partners,” said Ms. Allen, “for their investments in the wild and wonderful Waccamaw River. We couldn’t be more pleased that it is completed at last.”

a team of oxen, the church was moved around 1911. It now stands on a small plot of land given to the Church by Edward Reaves, the church’s namesake.

“This was our community church,” said Al Beatty, president of Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation. “Everyone in the community went to church there. Major groups came there to perform. A revival would bring in 80 – 100 people.”

“If somebody died, they rang the [church] bell,” he added. The bell, incidentally, still hangs in place in the church tower.

The congregation has slowly died out and the church has been abandoned for about a dozen years. “Navassa Mayor Eulis Willis started the group [Foundation],” said Al. “A lot of his kin people went to church there.”

With the professional assistance of the

over the years. Now repairing the

roof has become the first major priority. The Coastal Land Trust has already had a tarp installed to help prevent further water damage.

The Coastal Land Trust has also partnered with Navassa to identify land within the region that has significant Gullah Geechee cultural and historical significance. Mayor Willis introduced Al Beatty and the Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation project to the Coastal Land Trust.

“The partnership is important, said Jesica Blake, Coastal Land Trust Director of Stewardship and Community Conservation, “because of our more recent focus on community conservation and serving people that have not traditionally benefitted from land trust work. We have professional expertise in working with and acquiring complicated projects. We are grateful for the interest and support of the Orton Foundation for this project.”

Coastal Land Trust, Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation would like to acquire and renovate the Reaves Chapel church and site. Members of the Navassa community have been making minor repairs

The Murchison Group of Wells Fargo Advisors

“encroachment” – pressures or factors affecting the military’s use of their training and testing lands. As one solution, many military bases are now partnering with local entities to conserve key lands around their bases and within critical training routes from incompatible development.

In fact, the Coastal Land Trust has partnered with the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point since 2005. Together they have conserved more than 8,500 acres of land with conservation and military value around the main base in Craven County and outlying training areas in Carteret County. And recently, another military partnership, with the U.S. Air Force, has taken flight.

When Denise Evans, Community Planner at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (SJAFB), heard about the Coastal Land Trust’s Salmon Creek Project, and the story of Site X, she was immediately intrigued. She knew the 995-acre Bertie County property was important to SJAFB. It lies within a critical military training route for their pilots flying F-15E Strike Eagles to the Dare County Range.

After visiting the site in November 2016, Denise has worked tirelessly to craft a partnership agreement that allows SJAFB to partner with Coastal Land Trust and contribute funds towards the purchase and long-term conservation of this property. “We are ever grateful to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. They are contributing over $2M towards the Salmon Creek acquisition. Our military partnerships have really catapulted our capacity to conserve special places along our coast,” said Janice Allen, Coastal Land Trust Deputy Director. Fly on.

Denise has worked with the U.S. Air Force as a Community Planner since 2004, at Barksdale, Columbus, and now Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Her current duties include managing the U.S. Air Force’s comprehensive planning program and Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program. Denise and other leadership at the installation ensure that the base is fully capable of instituting current and future missions for the 4th Fighter Wing, the 916th Air Reserve Wing, and base tenants. Denise is a U.S. Army veteran and lives in Sims with her husband, Gerry.

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Youth Conservation Corps at Work on Coastal Land Trust Preserves

The Coastal Land Trust applied for and received four North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC) crews this summer. The youth worked at Everett Creek Nature Preserve, Brunswick Nature Park, and Gales Creek Preserve at Camp Sam Hatcher.

NCYCC provides young people with an understanding and appreciation of North Carolina’s natural lands and waterways. The crews work on variety of projects which include trail construction and maintenance, and loblolly removal for our pine restoration areas.

Each crew consists of 8 to 10 members who work five seven-hour days under the close supervision of two highly trained adult leaders on high-priority conservation projects. Youth and young adults (ages 16-24) develop leadership skills, community service, and gain knowledge working on environmental stewardship projects in local, state, federal, or land trust properties within North Carolina. The program offers a paid summer job, an opportunity to give back to the community, and for many participants, a lifechanging experience.

Brunswick Nature Park July 21-29, 2018

BLA zING TRAILS

Above and top: Members of the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps, hosted by the Coastal Land Trust, blazed new multi-use trails at the Brunswick Nature Park this summer. The Coastal Land Trust’s stewardship staff worked with crew leaders and crew to plan and organize the project.

Everett Creek Preserve, Sneads Ferry, Onslow County June 28, 2018

SEAL THE KIOSK

Members of the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) gathered at Everett Creek Preserve to work on jobs that continue to improve the Coastal Land Trust’s Preserve. In addition to trail maintenance, members of the crew painted the Everett Creek Preserve kiosk with wood sealer to make it last longer outside in the elements.

Seymour Johnson AFB,

pA r TNE r p r O f ILEdENISE Ev ANS

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16th Annual Holt CStores Golf Tournament Landfall Country Club Wilmington May 7, 2018

FUNDRAISER BENEFITS LAND TRUST

The Holt CStores Golf Tournament is the most successful fundraising event for the Coastal Land Trust. Hannah Holt, Director of Operations, (center) presents a check for $80,000 to Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Camilla Herlevich (left) and Melanie Allen, Board of Directors Vice Chair.

Coastal Land Trust events, field trips, and educational outings in our community showcase the joy of nature. September

November 10, 2018 Site X Sampler

Salmon Creek Natural Area, Merry Hill, NC, Bertie County

April 27, 2019

9th Annual flytrap frolic Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden Wilmington, NC

May 6, 2019 holt CStore golf Tournament Landfall Country Club Wilmington, NC

National Trails Day Hike Gales Creek Preserve at Camp Sam Hatcher Carteret County June 2, 2018

ENJOYING THE PRESERVE

Hikers at Gales Creek Preserve used the Coastal Land Trust’s “Find it in the Forest” as a guide during their hike.

From left: Andrew and Suzanne Wheatcraft, Amanda Shingleton Robles and her three children, Carver, Emma, and Rief, Jeff Morris and his son Braxton, Raquel Bensadoun, and Julian Ginori.

Partnership Event hosted by The Nature Conservancy

October 13, 2018 fire in the pines festival 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Halyburton Park Wilmington, NC Park at: 3147 S. 17th St. and ride the trolley!

Board Meeting

Conservation Trust for North Carolina

AmeriCorps Closing Ceremony

Haw River State Park June 29, 2018

PROJECT POSTER

Jade Woll, the Coastal Land Trust’s 2017-2018 Americorps Service member, receives her official certificate for completing 1700 hours of service from Nick DiColandrea, CTNC AmeriCorps Project Director.

Jade created a poster summarizing all of the Environmental Education and Volunteer events she organized and all the individuals that were reached.

Jade’s fellow Americorps members chose “Nomadic Naturalist” as her superlative (distinctive trait). This is inscribed on the record.

Site X Field Trip, Salmon Creek, Bertie County June 6, 2018

BOAT TOUR AND PRESENTATIONS

The Coastal Land Trust hosted a field trip for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board of Trustees and staff to Site X and Bal Gra Farm along Salmon Creek. It was a beautiful day with a boat tour on Salmon Creek and presentations by archaeologists Nicholas Luccketti and Clay Swindell.

Field Trip, Lea Hutaff Island May 10, 2018

Janice Allen, Mike Giles, Retired Coastal Federation Coastal Advocate, and Stephanie Borrett.

3 Pine Valley Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28412

J ADE W OLL , C OASTAL L AND T RUST ’ S AMERICORPS SERVICE MEMBER , AT S ALTER ’ S C REEK Salter’s Creek is a perfect location for paddle boarding.

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U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 316 Wilmington, NC VOLUME 18 // ISSUE 3 // Fall 2018

MEDIC and Great Outdoor Provision Company hosted the 2-day SOLO Wilderness First Aid workshop to benefit the Coastal Land Trust in May. The course was for those individuals who wanted to take their knowledge of first aid to the next level. Participants were challenged to use technical first-aid knowledge in hands-on situations that they could encounter during outdoor activities.

Photo by MEDIC Facebook page

Photo by Tatum Justice

Right: Participants were instructed to follow first aid procedure in checking a patient’s vitals and then, as a group, successfully moving the patient to a safer location without compromising the patient’s welfare.

Right: Participants were instructed to follow first aid procedure in checking a patient’s vitals and properly engineer a leg splint out of whatever they could find in their backpacks; such as a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, walking stick, clothing, and cut rags.