Langley Easement

Approximately 38 acres, Cypress Creek Township, Franklin County

Al and Jane Langley placed a permanent conservation easement on streamside buffers and wetlands on their property at Cypress Hall Plantation, an antebellum house and farm listed on the National Register of Historic Places eight miles southeast of Louisburg.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.

O’Neal Easement - Sandy Creek

Approximately 19 acres, Sandy Creek Township, Franklin County
Bill and Mary O’Neal placed a permanent conservation easement on their property along Sandy Creek off Jordan School Road in Gold Sand.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.

Brittain Easement

Approximately 37 acres, Hayesville Township, Franklin County

This conservation easement donated by Bill and Mary Ann Brittain protects a scenic stretch of Lynch Creek below Rocky Ford Road near Kittrell. Lynch Creek is a tributary of the “Middle Tar River Aquatic Site” that is recognized as ecologically significant by the North Carolina Heritage Program. The easement specifically protects the woodland buffers along Lynch Creek as well as the scenic values of the land, its wildlife and other natural resources.

This project was also made possible, in part, through support from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Taylor Easements

Approximately 450 acres along Cedar Creek and Tar River, SE of Louisburg, Franklin County

The Taylor Family donated two farmland easements, known as the Kemp (120 acres) and Tull (330 acres) easements, in 2002. This generous gift permanently protects 100 foot riparian buffers along the Tar River and Cedar Creek, and prevents development on the scenic uplands that are presently enrolled in nursery horticultural practices. This is our largest farmland conservation easement to date. This project illustrates how businesses like the Taylor's Nursery can protect working farmland without limiting farming and forestry practices, and at the same time obtain significant income and estate tax benefits.

This project was also made possible, in part, through support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Taylor - Underhill

Approximately 145 acres, Harris Township, Franklin County
The Taylor family donated an easement on the Underhill Farm seven miles east of Louisburg in 2004; this is the third easement the Taylors have donated to Tar River Land Conservancy and the second on the Tar River.

This project was made possible, in part, through support from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

Allen Easement

Approximately 500 acres, Richlands and Sandy Creeks, Franklin County

A 53 acre conservation easement on this tract of land was donated by Felix and Lucy Allen in December 2000 to the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. The easement was then assigned to Tar River Land Conservancy (TRLC) on March 15, 2004. Immediately thereafter, TRLC protected an additional 442 acres of this property. We are preserving and protecting the conservation and scenic values of this property which lies along a historic millpond site known as Laurel Mill. The 1830 gristmill is protected by a historic preservation easement held by Preservation North Carolina. Because of its high quality waters and significant aquatic biodiversity, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality recently designated Sandy Creek as an Outstanding Resource Water, the highest stream classification given to streams in our state. The Swift/Sandy Creek has even been heralded by biologists as one of the most important streams to empty into the eastern seaboard of the United States because it harbors sixteen rare and endangered species. The Nature Conservancy, a national land conservation organization dedicated to protecting the world’s biodiversity, designated the Upper Tar River as one of the Last Great Places on earth in great part due to Swift/Sandy Creek.

This project was also made possible, in part, through support from the Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program, and the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

Approximately 26 acres, Sandy Creek Township, Franklin County; Shocco Township, Warren County

Bill and Mary O’Neal placed a permanent conservation easement on their property along Little Shocco Creek off of Ed Faulkner Road in April 2005. The easement is located in both Franklin and Warren Counties and will protect Little Shocco Creek and a portion of an unnamed tributary to Little Shocco Creek.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.

Williamson Easement

Approximately 59 acres, Goldmine Township, Franklin County

John and Hope Williamson donated a conservation easement on this property. The easement permanently protects a 100-ft buffer along both sides of Shelley Branch and an unnamed tributary to Shelley Branch. Shelley Branch is a tributary of Sandy Creek, portions of which are listed as 303(d) impaired by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. The easement prevents future development or subdivision of the property, but allows for timber harvest and agricultural practices on the portions of the property outside of the stream buffer. This easement will help to protect water quality in Shelley Creek and Sandy Creek.

This project was made possible through funding from a Clean Water Act Section 319 Grant from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Wheless Easement

Approximately 14.63 acres, Sandy Creek Township, Franklin County

In December 2005, James and Senora Wheless placed a conservation easement on their land. This easement adjoins the Tomlinson tract, which is also protected by a TRLC conservation easement. The Wheless easement protects a riparian buffer along 1,300 feet of Little Shocco Creek, a Significant Aquatic Habitat area.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.

Parrish Easement

Approximately 33.39 acres, Gold Mine Township, Franklin County

In May 2006, John and Jackie Parrish placed a conservation easement on their land. The Parrish easement protects a riparian buffer along Sandy Creek. Sandy Creek, which serves as the headwaters to Swift Creek. The North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) classifies Swift Creek as an Outstanding Resource Water (ORW). The Parrish Property occurs along a portion of Sandy Creek that NCDWQ included in its 2004 303(d) list of impaired waters due to excessive erosion and a decrease in the biological health of the stream. The protection of riparian buffer along the Parrish Tract will reduce the potential for erosion impacts brought on by other land uses (development, agriculture) and thereby contribute to water quality improvements.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.

Perry Easement - Cedar Creek

Approximately 162.44 acres, Harris Township, Franklin County

The Perry Easement protects a 17,250 ft stretch of Cedar Creek, a major tributary to the Tar River. Cedar Creek contains occurrences of the federally endangered Dwarfwedge mussel (Alasmidonta heterodon). The Cedar Creek Flooplain is identified as a natural area of state significance by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

This project was made possible by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program.