Crossroads
NEWSLETTER # 105, November, 2003 www.carteretcrossroads.org PO BOX 155, BEAUFORT, NC 28516. 252-726-6663
Guest Editorial: John Fussell
[John recently retired from Crossroads' Board of
Directors, but continues to be active as an advisor to the Board on wetland
issues. He now serves on the Board of the North Carolina Coastal Land
Trust. John is a professional
consultant on wetlands evaluation and is also a highly regarded expert on birds
residing and passing through eastern Carolina…Ed.]
Protecting
the Environment through Land Trusts and Similar Organizations—Acquisition of
Lands and the Use of Conservation Easements
Sometimes discussions about the role of
land trusts in protecting the environment evolve into discussions—or
arguments—about the relative value of the acquisition of lands (or granting of
conservation easements) as opposed to enactment/enforcement of adequate
environmental regulations. This issue should not be considered as an either/or
choice. Certainly, the acquisition
of selected lands for the goal of preservation (or at least the preservation of
certain values) should not be considered as a substitute for the existence of
adequate environmental regulations.
Rather, these two ways of protecting the environment should be seen as
complementary.
What are some of the limitations of
environmental regulations that can be addressed in some instances by actions
carried out by Land Trusts and similar conservation organizations (acquisition
of land, acquisition of conservation easements)?
--Many types of
environmental problems are not addressed or are addressed only marginally by
existing environmental regulations.
For instance, in regard to private land, environmental regulations are
essentially of no value in protecting most types of rare and declining species,
and rarely address the major reason most rare species are declining—habitat
loss. To preserve these types of
environmental values, it is mandatory that land be acquired or protected by an
adequate conservation easement.
--Even in regard to environmental laws that the public generally
perceive as being quite stringent, the environmental effects of such laws may
not address many environmental concerns.
For instance, the public generally perceive that wetlands—all types of
wetlands—are stringently protected by law. However, even in those cases where wetlands are indeed
protected from destruction by filling, the regulations may not prevent the
destruction of habitat by excavation, logging, or other means. In some cases, wetlands that are not
directly destroyed by a development project may nevertheless be destroyed over
the long run. An example is the
pocosin wetland that was set aside when the Cypress Bay Plaza in west Morehead
City was built several years ago.
This remaining, isolated tract is now much degraded and it is doubtful
if it would qualify as being a wetland today.
Environmental regulations have certainly resulted
in some successes in slowing down—and reversing to some degree in some
instances—water quality declines.
However, continuing to address water quality degradation in the face of
increasing population pressures will be an ongoing challenge. Perhaps more effective environmental
regulations and engineering solutions will be able to address water quality
problems in the future, even as the human population of the coastal zone
continues to increase. Or, perhaps
not. Perhaps the only truly
productive estuaries/portions of estuaries in the future will be those in which
a significant portion of the adjacent land is protected such that there is no
development or very minimal development. For instance, the recent acquisition
of the vast North River Farms by the N.C. Coastal Federation offers a very real
potential for maintaining and even improving water quality of a portion of the
North River estuary. This is because a large portion of the watershed will be
protected from development and will be available for management actions that
are likely to result in less surface runoff from agricultural lands. Even if environmental
regulations/engineering solutions can be successful in the future, we are
likely to need sections of estuaries having largely undeveloped shorelines for
baseline data by which to guide restoration of degraded estuaries.
Perhaps one
of the most positive aspects of acquiring land/conservation easements is that
it is well regarded by a majority of the public. Many people who bristle at the thought of any type of
environmental regulation being imposed on their land by any government may
quite willingly consider selling the land to a land trust or entering into a
conservation easement. In some
cases, persons owning environmentally sensitive land may not even want to
develop the land, but nevertheless are compelled to realize some financial
benefit. Further, this kind of
positive opinion often is contagious.
When one person decides to sell to a land trust (or enter into a
conservation agreement) environmentally sensitive land, this often results in
others being willing to make a similar commitment.
Another relative advantage of acquiring
land or protecting it through conservation easements is that environmental laws
are subject to being weakened through the political process. Actually, such weakening occurs rather
often. Even when the laws themselves
are not actually weakened, political pressure may result in their virtual
abandonment as a result of a lack of enforcement.
A recent major land trust acquisition in
Carteret County was the acquisition of 800 acres of land along Pettiford Creek
by the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust in 2003. This acquisition preserves land along two miles of Pettiford
Creek. In that the opposite side
of this section of creek was already under Federal ownership (Croatan National
Forest), it is now a certainty that at least this upper section of Pettiford
Creek will continue to have excellent water quality in the future. Much of the acquired land consists of
medium to high quality longleaf pine forest, which is habitat for numerous rare
and declining plant and animal species.
Acquisition of the land also provides the opportunity for the
restoration or partial restoration of a very rare type of wetland habitat,
called seepage slope. Further, the
Pettiford Creek property will be an important buffer for a section of the
southern Croatan National Forest.
The southern Croatan is the most important section of the Croatan for
rare species, but it is the section that is most threatened with degradation
from development on adjacent lands.
Again, I want to stress that I do not
think that activities of land trusts and enactment/adequate enforcement of environmental
regulations should be seen as either/or priorities. Both activities have their strong points and should be
seen as complementary.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE
MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LAND AND MORE OPEN SPACE PROTECTED IN CARTERET
COUNTY?
If so,
then you should join the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. In addition to acquiring the Pettiford Creek tract cited
above, the Land Trust is now working hard to acquire another tract (about 100
acres in size) that borders the south Croatan National Forest. This tract harbors endangered species
and will be an important buffer to the Croatan. Additionally, the Land Trust has been investigating the
possibility of protecting another three tracts within the county. Although the Land Trust is doing much
conservation work in Carteret County, only a few Carteret County residents are
members of the Land Trust.
Carteret County residents are urged to join the Land Trust for 2004. The minimum membership fee is $30. You can join by visiting the web site
at coastallandtrust.org or by writing North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, 3806-B
Park Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.
Crossroads News
We have run into some problems when trying
to send out e-mail alerts of significant happenings. We always have addresses
in our file that prevent the message going out—especially troubling and
time-consuming—and also get a significant number of “Unknown user” messages for
incorrect e-mail addresses. I realize that a lot of folks are changing Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) but, unfortunately, when you change you are lost to
our mailing list unless we get a message that you have a new address.
There are two things that you can do that
would save us a lot of time and trouble. If you change your ISP, drop us a
line. Whenever you renew your membership, put your current e-mail address on
the membership blank.
If you are a member of Crossroads and did
not get an e-mail notice of the County Land Use Plan Information Meeting
scheduled for November 10 from me, we do not have your correct address. Please
let me know at ihooper@mail.clis.com and we will be glad
to correct our e-mail list. Thanks for your cooperation. And as long as you
have my address and are writing, let me know what we are doing right or wrong
and how we can be more effective. We are always glad to hear from you. Thanks.
Take Note: Dues remain at $10 per
year or $100 for a lifetime membership only until Dec. 31 of this year. Next year they are $15 per
year or $150 for a lifetime membership. If you do not know if your dues are
paid, look at the mailing label on this newsletter.
Many thanks to new life members, Charlie
and Bernard Blanchard.
Carteret County Land Use Plan Update
The Planning Commission is holding a
Community Forum to get public input on
the new plan.
6:00 pm December 15, 2003
Commissioner's Board Room,
Administration Bldg. Beaufort