The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust announced Wednesday that an additional 593 acres along the Newport River have been purchased from Weyerhaeuser Co. and transferred to North Carolina Coastal Federation for long-term management and restoration.
The Coastal Land Trust purchased the acreage in November, a tract that features estuarine marsh, managed loblolly pine forest, and bottomland hardwoods along more than 4 miles of the river and its tributaries.
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The property lies within the Newport River and Black Creek Natural Heritage Area, which the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program has deemed of “very high ecological significance.”
Earlier this year: Groups conserve old Weyerhaeuser tract on Newport River
The latest acquisition is adjacent to the Coastal Federation’s 215-acre McCotter Preserve, upstream from the Coastal Land Trust’s 530-acre Newport River Marsh Preserve and close to the Croatan National Forest. It’s the second phase of a conservation partnership among the Coastal Land Trust, the Coastal Federation and the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point to protect and restore land along the Newport River.
The Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review.
The first phase, completed in 2023, protected 1,436 acres just downstream from this newest conservation project, officials said.
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“This conservation success and our partnership with the Coastal Federation have been critical steps forward in connecting existing conservation lands and continuing our efforts to restore significant natural habitats,” Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Harrison Marks said.
The revised 2021-25 N.C. Oyster Restoration and Protection Plan, a collaborative restoration blueprint, ranks the Newport River as one of the most economically valuable and environmentally endangered oyster-growing estuaries in the state. Stormwater runoff is recognized as the largest source of coastal water quality impairment. The Coastal Federation plans to restore the natural hydrology and vegetation on portions of each protected property.
“Our close partnership with the Coastal Land Trust has provided important new opportunities for coastal restoration and conservation in North Carolina,” Coastal Federation Executive Director Braxton Davis said. “By protecting and restoring these ecologically rich lands along the Newport River, we’re not just preserving habitat, we’re also improving the downstream water quality and fisheries of the Newport River for generations to come.”
The Coastal Land Trust cited retired N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission wildlife biologist David Allen, who said the estuarine marshes along the Newport River near the property likely hosts important habitat for many species of greatest conservation need as identified in the 2015 North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan, including diamondback terrapin, little blue heron, glossy ibis, snowy egret, tricolored heron, and American oystercatcher.
In addition, the combined 2,029 acres are militarily strategic, including transit route between U.S. Marine Corps New River Air Station and the Piney Island Bombing Target, or BT-11, and helicopter turf routes in Carteret County and a flight-holding pattern for Cherry Point.
“Conservation partnerships and projects like this one are important for both coastal resiliency and military training,” said Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Government and External Relations Carmen Lombardo of Marine Corps Installations East-Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. “We were pleased to provide Department of Defense funds toward both projects.”
Funding for the acquisition came from North Carolina Land and Water Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program, Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Integration Program, and U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities Enviva Forest Conservation Fund.
