Digging Deeper at Site X - Spring 2019

DIggINg DEEpEr AT SITE X

TO: NOrTh CArOLINIANS

FrOm: ThE COASTAL L AND TruST

Over the past couple of years, we’ve talked a lot about an incredibly beautiful, very special piece of land in Bertie County, NC, on Salmon Creek, which includes “Site X”. Here are the highlights:

• First, it went on the market, permitted for 2,800 units and a 212-slip marinaYIKES!

• Then, we took out a loan and bought it - YAY!

• Next, we wrote (and received!) 2 federal, 3 state, and 1 corporate grants to pay off the loan in just over a yearOh YEAh!

• In the meantime, archaeologists found even more treasures on the land, telling pieces of the story of Native Algonquins who once lived there, as well as the possibility that some Lost Colonists also settled there once - WOW!

And now, we are proud to give this land as a gift to North Carolinians - 1,000 acres of land holding many historically, archaeologically, and ecologically significant features to create the Salmon Creek State Natural AreahurrAY!

mYSTErIES

By Lee L. Leidy, Coastal Land Trust Northeast Region Director

Hot, humid weather did not deter First Colony Foundation (FCF) archaeologists working to uncover 400-year old clues to the mystery of the Lost Colony at the Coastal Land Trust’s “Site X” in October. The Coastal Land Trust knew this 995-acre Bertie County property

along 3 ½ miles of Salmon Creek was an ecological and historical gem.

Not only recognized as ecologically significant by North Carolina’s Natural Heritage Program, the property had historical significance as the location of Governor Thomas Pollock’s home (Bal Gra), “Site X”

Excavations, continued on page 4

SITE X BECOmES A STATE NATurAL ArEA

In November, 2018, the Coastal Land Trust completed the transfer of the Salmon Creek tract (location of Site X) to the State of North Carolina to be managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks and recreation as a State Natural Area. The area will be known as the Salmon Creek Natural Area.

The property transfer was completed thanks to funds awarded by the N.C. Clean

Water Management Trust Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Attorney General’s Environmental Enhancement Grant Fund, N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund and the U.S. Department of Defense.

“The Salmon Creek property stands out due to its rich cultural history, truly pristine ecosystems and unique archaeological

resources,” said Susi Hamilton, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “We are grateful for the tireless work of the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and all of the partners in funding this project. We look forward to offering this new state natural area in Bertie County, a beautiful part of our state currently underserved by our state parks system.”

Clay Swindell explains Site X excavations at First Colony Foundation archaeological excavation work at Site X, Merry Hill, Bertie County, September – early October, 2018.

NEWLY ELECTED DIrECTOrS JOIN COASTAL LAND TruST BOArD

Sam Cook

Raleigh

Sam serves as Executive Director of Forest Assets for the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Previously, he was Director of Forestry for the Center for Heirs Property Preservation in Charleston, Director of Programs for the Waccamaw Community Foundation, Director and Business Development for Nonprofit Organizations and Small Businesses in Pawley’s Island and Forest Resources Regional Manager for Lumber Mills for International Paper.

Sam previously served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Coastal Land Trust. Sam has degrees in Forestry from Tuskegee University and from North Carolina State University.

BOArD OF DIrECTOrS

Robert Wells Kitty Hawk

Robert is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and President of Southern Insurance Agency, a Towne Insurance Agency company.

Robert is very active in the community, and has served as President and Chairman of Outer Banks Tennis Association, Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, The Nature Conservancy’s Nags Head Wood Preserve, Dare County Youth Center, Inc., North Banks Rotary Club, Outer Banks Community Foundation and Dare County Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.

In addition, he serves on numerous insurance company advisory boards. He graduated from Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College).

By purchasing a specialty plate, and renewing it each year, you help fund our future by creating a sustainable revenue stream that can greatly increase our ability to protect the beauty of the North Carolina coast.

$20 of each specialty plate directly benefits the Coastal Land Trust and supports land conservation in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina! The other $10 supports highway beautification throughout the state.

A big “shout out” to all of you who are putting the Coastal Land Trust on the road. In 2018 we received $27,000 from the NCDOT.

Randy Beardsworth Wilmington, NC Nancy J. Bray Grifton, NC Sam Cook Raleigh, NC John Fussell Morehead City, NC

Hannah McOwen Manteo, NC Linda Murchison Wilmington, NC Linda Pearsall Raleigh, NC Robert Perry Raleigh, NC

Kris Pickler Davidson, NC Will Purvis Wilmington, NC

Cheryl Bradley Smith Pine Knoll Shores, NC

Lovay WallaceSingleton New Bern, NC

Robert Wells Kitty Hawk, NC George Wood Kill Devil Hills, NC

President Ann Cary Simpson Chapel Hill, NC

Vice President Melanie Allen Durham, NC

Secretary and Vice President Hannah Holt Wilmington, NC

Treasurer Maggie Ashburn Wilmington, NC

Board members serve three-year staggered terms and are elected each year by the membership during the annual meeting.

OF

New Faces at Coastal Land Trust

CALhOuN

Eric Calhoun, who dedicated his life to commitment to service, died November 16, 2018 at age 71. Eric was a wise and witty volunteer leader for the Coastal Land Trust and scores of other nonprofit enterprises. We can do no better than to share with you the code he learned at Camp Agawam, which guided his life:

Woodcraft Laws

BEAuTY

• Be clean, both yourself and the place you live in.

• Understand and respect your body, for it is the temple of the spirit.

• Be a friend to all harmless wildlife. Conserve the woods and flowers, and especially be ready to fight wildfire in forest or town.

TruTh

• Word of honor is sacred.

• Play fair; foul play is treachery.

• Be reverent; worship the Great Spirit. and respect all worship of him by others.

FOrTITuDE

• Be Brave. Courage is the noblest of all attainments.

• Be silent while your elders are speaking and otherwise show them deference.

• Obey. Obedience is the first duty of the Woodcrafter.

LOvE

• Be kind. Do at least one act of un-bargaining service each day.

• Be helpful. Do your share of the work.

• Be joyful. Seek the joy of being alive.

Evan Hill GIS Specialist/ Stewardship Associate

Evan Hill is a Wilmington native who joined the Coastal Land Trust in January 2019. He recently graduated from UNC Wilmington and holds a bachelor of science degree in both oceanography and environmental sciences.

Evan is excited to be a part of the Coastal Land Trust team and looks forward to helping preserve the beautiful lands of the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. In his free time, Evan enjoys biking, kayaking, and disc golf. His favorite Coastal Land Trust preserve is Springer’s Point because of the scenery and the living shoreline.

REAVES CHAPEL WORK

From left: Charlene Richardson, Camilla Herlevich, and Wanda Sloan. Ms. Richardson and Ms. Sloan are members of the Wilmington Chapter of Links, Inc., the organization that sponsored the festival. Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Camilla Herlevich and Mr. Alfonso Beatty of Navassa presented on the ongoing work to save Reaves Chapel in Navassa.

(where a variety of archaeological resources had been excavated), and Mettaquem (a 16th century Algonkian Indian village).

In earlier digs at “Site X”, FCF had uncovered pre-colonial English artifacts and numerous Algonkian Indian artifacts. Based on those findings, historical site description, documentary and cartographic evidence, FCF believes a splinter group of Lost Colony survivors may have relocated to “Site X” after leaving Roanoke Island.

FCF wanted to complete additional investigations at “Site X” and a first-ever excavation at Mettaquem. A partnership with the Coastal Land Trust and funding provided by the Town of Windsor and Bertie County made FCF’s new excavation work at “Site X” and Mettaquem possible!

First Colony Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conducting archaeological and historical research, combined with public education and interpretation, relating to the story of America’s beginnings with attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to establish colonies at Roanoke Island in the 1580s under his charter from Queen Elizabeth I.

Not only did the fall 2017 excavations reveal numerous Woodland Native American artifacts, including Middle and Late Woodland ceramics, but a green glazed Border ware rim sherd and a lead Augsburg cloth seal featuring a design used between 1550 and 1625 were unearthed at “Site X”!

FCF’s goal for testing at Mettaquem was to locate features confirming whether the village was palisaded, similar to the one depicted by John White’s painting of Pomeioc. The Mettaquem excavation revealed several linear features, including one having a high probability of being a Late Woodland palisade trench.

First Colony Foundation President Phil Evans enthused, “An additional find at ‘Site X’ of a green rim sherd from a ceramic ware made along England’s

ABOVE: First Colony Foundation archaeological excavation work at Site X, Merry Hill, Bertie County, September – early October, 2018. Section of test trench at Mettaquem showing plow scars and possible Woodland period palisade trench. The Late Woodland Period lasted from AD 900 until 1650. Settlements were often surrounded by a palisade, a wall of upright wooden posts.

Photo courtesy of First Colony Foundation

RIGHT: Sherd Found at Site X in October, 2018. Green rim sherd from ceramic ware made along England’s Surrey-Hampshire border provides further support of First Colony Foundation’s interpretation that a small number of Elizabethan colonists resided at Site X in close proximity and continual contact with the native Americans living at the Algonkian village Mettaquem located immediately west of Site X.

Surrey-Hampshire border (and representing another early household item that the colonists used) further supports our interpretation that this is a place where a small number of Elizabethan colonists resided in close proximity and continual contact with the native Americans living at Mettaquem immediately to the west.

All this is about fifty miles west of Roanoke Island where the colonists that we now call the “Lost Colonists” told their governor

John White in 1587 they were going and where 2012 discoveries on their map now at London’s British Museum show they had a very strong interest.”

A nondescript metal concretion from Site X has been cleaned and identified to be a lead Augsburg cloth seal of the design used between roughly 1550 and 1625. These seals were attached to bolts of textiles to document that the cloth had been inspected and taxes had been paid. Below is pristine example of a similar seal. In 1587, 117 English men, women, and children came ashore on Roanoke Island to establish a permanent English settlement in the New World. Just three years later in 1590, when English ships returned to bring supplies, they found the island deserted with no sign of the colonists.

family of Eric Calhoun included the Coastal Land Trust among the charitable organizations designated to receive gifts in his memory. We are always grateful to be honored in this way.

might be surprised to know about the variety of other ways that supporters of the Coastal Land Trust and their families, have chosen to make a planned or a special gift to the Coastal Land Trust. A planned gift can be powerfully impactful for any nonprofit organization.

Each of the following strategies either has been selected, or is under active consideration, by a supporter of the Coastal Land Trust: 1. Naming the Coastal Land Trust as beneficiary of a life insurance policy 2. Designating the Coastal Land Trust to receive the proceeds of a charitable remainder trust 3. Designating the Coastal Land Trust as beneficiary of a retirement or 401(k) account

4. Creating a named fund to be part of the Stewardship Endowment 5. Creating a special fund to be part of a Revolving Loan Fund 6. Creating an endowed staff position, similar to an endowed chair at a university 7. Provisions in wills, including: • Gift of conservation property

• Gift of non-conservation property such as a subdivision lot, house, or other property (which would be sold, with the net

proceeds to the Coastal Land Trust)

• Gift of a specific bequest of cash from an estate

• Gift of a percentage of the assets in an estate

Charitable giving can be for everyone. Gifts large and small make lasting impacts. If you are talking with your financial advisor or lawyer about estate planning, consider including a planned gift for the Coastal Land Trust as part of your conversation.

E-mail requests for information to: Vann Pearsall, vann@ CoastalLandTrust.org.

2018 hONOr rOLL OF DONOrS

The Coastal Land Trust expresses our gratitude to the families, foundations, and corporations who made a gift during our fiscal year (October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018). Gifts of all sizes are appreciated. However, because of space, listed below are those contributions of Tidewater Society Level ($1000) and above. All contributions are recognized on our website at CoastalLandTrust.org/ contributors.

Your

If you have questions or would like to change the listing of your name, online or in our publications, please contact Vann Pearsall at (910) 790-4524 ext. 210

$100,000+

NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund

NC Department of Justice

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission North Carolina Department of Transportation Fred and Alice Stanback

U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, Inc US Fish and Wildlife Service

$50,000-$99,999

F. M. Kirby Foundation, Inc Orton Foundation LLC

$10,000-$49,999

Anonymous

Ms. Agnes R. Beane

Randy and Betty Ann Beardsworth Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated Dr. I. Alan Craig

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cushman Mr. Richard W. Dodd and Ms. Cheryl Grandfield Charlotte Noel Fox

Ms. Camilla M. Herlevich and Mr. Jim Brier Hannah and Stephanie Holt Mrs. Patricia A. Horstman Dr. and Mrs. Paul Hosier Linda and Reid Murchison Mr. Michael Murchison and Ms. Barbara Sullivan Owens Family, LLC

Ms. Annie Gray Sprunt Mr. David Sprunt Brad and Shelli Stanback Mrs. Nancy Stanback The Coastal Companies Wessell & Raney, LLP

$5,000-$9,999

Anonymous

Merrie Jo Alcoke and Tom Wilson

Janice and Dave Allen Bob and Lindy Emory Holt Oil Company

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Honeycutt Dres. Jan and Brigitte Kohlmeyer Land Trust Alliance

M.R. Williams, Inc

Mr. and Mrs. Brian J. McMerty John C. Nicholls Jr.

Support from the Richard Chapman Cleve Fund, a component of the North Carolina Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Smith

The Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation Inc Ms. Pam B. Vinson Wells Fargo Foundation

$2,500 - $ 4,999

Anonymous (2)

Ms. Guenevere Abernathy BP America

Dr. and Mrs. John T. Bray Mr. David C. Bryan Mary and Eric* Calhoun EarthShare NC

First Citizens Bank Ms. Frances Goodman

Great Outdoor Provision Company Dr. and Mrs. John H. Haley III Mr. and Mrs. George Howard

Hurley and Associates of Fayetteville, Inc. Charles and Jeanette Kernan Mutual Distributing Company NC Subway Group, Inc

Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund of the North Carolina Native Plant Society Ed and Susan Norvell

Mr. and Mrs. David Paynter Robert Perry and Katherine Crawford Kris and Jen Pickler Point Clan, LLC R. A. Jeffreys

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Raney, Jr. S&D Coffee, Inc Mrs. Nancy Sample Ann and Bland Simpson Ms. Marjorie Starling Towne Bank and Towne Insurance Unifirst

Mr. Thomas L. White Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Douglas Wolfe $1,000 - $2,499

Ms. Sally Anger Maggie Ashburn and Rich Mason Bald Head Island Limited, LLC Woody and Terri Billings

Mr. John Brier

Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm M. Brown Mr. Michael C. Brown Jr. and Ms. Jane Haskell Fox Mr. Jay Burney III Cheerwine Judge and Mrs. Dougald N. Clark, Jr.

Claudia Taylor Limited Partnership Corbett Package Company

Diana Corbett Ms. Elizabeth Darrow Peter and Cay Davis

East Carolina Dermatology Ebenconcepts Inc

Edwards of Ocracoke

Empire Graphics

Farm Bureau - New Hanover County

Mr. David B. Finch

John Fussell

Grady White Boats

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Heill

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hichens Mr. Tom Hollinshed

Mr. and Mrs. George Horton

Ms. Kathryn B. Howd

Mr. and Mrs. Gene Huntsman

International Paper Foundation

Intracoastal Realty

Jacobs Preyer Family Foundation

The Joanna Foundation

Mr. Bob Jones and Ms. Peggy Sloan

Mr. Ken Karn and Ms. Sally Buchanan

Mr. Thomas S. Kenan III

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Kiefer

Ms. Lee Kimball and Mr. R. Tucker Scully

Kitty Hawk Kites

Dr. Kenneth Klein and Ms. Bobbi Harmon Land Management Group Landmark Commercial Dr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Leonard Ms. Jan M. Lewis

Ms. Anne Marshall Bob and Carol Mattocks Jane M. McNeer

Cyndi and Ronnie McNeill

MCO Transport, Inc

Murchison, Taylor, & Gibson, PLLC

Ms. Nancy K. Nunn

Ocracoke Island Realty

Mr. Stuart Paynter

Mr. L. Richardson Preyer Jr. and Mrs. Marilyn Jacobs Preyer

Will and Jenny Purvis

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Raney

Mr. and Mrs. Walker H. Rayburn Jr. RC Land Design and Maintenance

Red Bull

Lynn Regnery

Resource Management Service, LLC

Restoration Systems, LLC

Mr. Roy Revels

Mr. Arthur Rice, Sr.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ritchie

Dr. and Mrs. Pete Rowlett

Salt Air Inc

Mr. Roger Self

Dr. and Mrs. Robert Sherman

Bryan, Cheryl, and Peyton Smith

Smithfield Foods

Mr. and Mrs. Trawick Stubbs Jr.

support helps to save the best, most imperiled lands on the coast of North Carolina. Thank you!

The Oleander Company, Inc Thomson, Corder & Company

The Transplanted Garden Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wakild Mr. and Mrs. John Ward Waste Management Mr. Dean Weber

The Murchison Group of Wells Fargo Advisors LLC Weyerhaeuser George and Lynda Wood Mr. Thomas Woodbury and Mrs. Barbara Jaffe Zillies, Inc

*Deceased

TrIBuTES

In Honor Of:

All those affected by hurricane Florence by Douglas Warren

Morgan Alexander by Dr. Katherine Bruce and Dr. Mark Galizio Scott Andersen by Mr. and Mrs. Roger James

John Finnegan by Mr. Richard LeBlond

Patrick R. Floyd by Jetter Pittman

Mary B. Grantham by Jetter Pittman

Marvin R. Harrell by Bryce McClenney

Camilla M. Herlevich by Stephen and Louise Coggins John and Betsy Leonard Dr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Leonard Lisa Thomson Mr. and Mrs. Clark Wright

Moo Jeffrey by Taylor Beard

Auden and Elizabeth Kaehler by John Haverkamp

Jim Keyzer by Bill and Betty Gray Davis

Calvin Koonce by Battle Koonce

Kelly Merritt by Sarah Birkedal

Charles Parker by Nick Parker

Vann Pearsall by Ann and Bland Simpson

Samuel C. Rankin by Keith Tilghman

Philip F. Ritchie by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ritchie

Joe Sheridan by Chuck Millsaps

Ann Simpson by Hunter Simpson

Laura Solomon by Ellen J. Solomon

Margaret Spallek by Mrs. Helen R. Pinckney Charles and Susie Wakild by Paul Sinal

In Memory Of:

Mary C. Dunham by John T. Cox

Tammy Finch by David B. Finch Kingsley Delacato Jim E. Stovall Chris Strandberg

M B. Freewill by William Rule Patricia Howe by David L. Deffenbaugh David R. Deffenbaugh Kyle Pointer Barbara D. Seebaran Murilla Emma O. Johnson by Alice Johnson

Julie A. Kiefer by Carl Kiefer

Leona H. Kostar by Ms. Nancy K. Nunn

Jeanette MacWilliams by Mr. Lawrence Wolf and Mrs. Jo Ann M. Wolf

May W. Moore by Hailey Brady

Mary R. Morrison by Malcolm B. Morrison

Amanda Perry by Taylor Beard

Robert S. Segal by Richard Segal

Cynthia L. Sneddon by Marcy Maury

John Stelling by Charles Rogalski

Jim Stephenson by Sally Anger

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Heill

Terry Tait by Jonathan Tait

John W. Thomas by James W. Broughton Lee F. Butzin

Charles R. Carter Candace W. Fenn

Miriam Hage Anne Marshall James W. Mauro

David L. Maynard Carolyn D. McCreesh Linda and Reid Murchison Christine L. Myatt

Dr. Norm Robinson and Rev. Hannah Vaughan Susan Stern Mark Warburton John Wessell

Jerald A. Wilks Gloria M. Wilson Caren C. York

Robert Worth by Mary Calhoun

NATurE TrIvIA

Trivia clue on page 4

Answer: C. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bald eagles have staged a remarkable recovery from the brink of extinction with a low of 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to 9,789 pairs in 2007. The bald eagle, one of the first species to receive protections under the precursor to the Endangered Species Act in 1967, was removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plant Species in 2007.

Photo by Dave Menke

SCrApBOOK

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

CLEANUP DAYS

RIGHT: Steve Perks

BELOW: Pam Watkins BOTTOM: Brunswick Nature Park Volunteer Group

Board Field Trip • Greenville • December 6, 2018

TOUR ON THE TAR RIVER

Dr. Stan Riggs, center, leads a walking tour of the property owned by him and his wife Ann. Almost all of the Riggs property, located on the Tar River, has been permanently protected by a conservation easement held by North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. Dr. Riggs is an esteemed retired geology professor at ECU.

Annual Celebration Lawn Party, Old Town Plantation Brunswick County September 29, 2018

Diana Corbett and Linda Murchison

Charlene and Terry Richardson and Wanda Sloan

Vaiden Kendrick, John Wessel and David Huffine

Bob and Mary Thomson

Amy and Clint North

Trail Days • Brunswick Nature Park • January 5, 2019

saving 75% of lands on our Top 40 list by 2025!

we are on the way towards meeting our lofty goal of

property as well as 4 other sites protected (12%),

conserved on the coast. With the Salmon Creek

historic and/or recreational value that we most want

exemplary sites with considerable ecological, scenic,

Creek property to our Top 40 list, essentially a list of

the Coastal Land Trust to add the 995-acre Salmon

This recognition along with other values prompted

study area.”

Small Stream Swamp in the Albemarle-Pamlico

deemed “one of the best examples of a Coastal Plain

in Bertie County as an important natural area. It was

highlighted the swamp forest along Salmon Creek

most worthy of conservation attention. In 1990, they

and fauna and identified relatively pristine habitats

beautiful coast. They have documented rare flora

DIGGING FOR DRAINAGE

RIGHT: Director of Stewardship Jesica Blake and the Foy family try to put back a drain pipe cover that fell over during Hurricane Florence. The drain pipe cover makes sure debris doesn’t go into the stream. They’re trying to leverage it with a piece of wood.

VOLUNTEERS GET SET

BELOW: Laural Coffrey, Rob Hart, Michael Snyder, MC Beaudoin

Conservation

“Th

S AL m ON Cr EEK p r O p E r TY mAKES

Wilmington, North Carolina 28412 VOLUME 19 // ISSUE 1 // Spring 2019

U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 316 Wilmington, NC

Trail Days Abbey Nature Preserve December

3 Pine Valley Drive COAST LINES www.CoastalLandTrust.org PAGE 10

4, 2018