TRLC Hosts Field Trip for National Land Trust Conference
STEM – Tar River Land Conservancy (TRLC) recently hosted a field trip to two protected properties for a group of land conservationists from across the country. The officials visited TRLC’s Gantt and Hunter Tracts located next to Camp Butner in Granville County. The field trip was held in conjunction with the Land Trust Alliance’s National Land Conservation Conference held at the Raleigh Convention Center on October 17-19, 2019.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation organization that represents 1,000 land trusts that have conserved more than 50 million acres across the United States. TRLC has been a member of the Land Trust Alliance since 2002. Over 2,000 land conservationists gathered at this year’s National Land Conservation Conference to attend educational sessions, professional networking events, and field trips highlighting the region’s natural resources.
TRLC was selected to host a field trip to highlight its partnership with the NC National Guard to buffer Camp Butner from future development. The field trip included hikes on TRLC’s properties, and a lunch and presentation from military officials at Camp Butner. Field trip attendees included conservationists from California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
“We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this field trip,” said Derek Halberg, TRLC Executive Director. “It was a great opportunity to showcase Granville County to this group. And we benefited by receiving valuable feedback from professionals working on similar programs around the country.”
Since 2017, TRLC has purchased three tracts adjoining Camp Butner that total 1,035 acres. In addition to providing an undeveloped buffer around the military installation, the acquisitions will help protect drinking water for communities in southern Granville County and in Wake County.