Catawba Lands Conservancy To
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CATAWBA LANDS CONSERVANCY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT CATAWBA LANDS CONSERVANCY TO PROTECT MORE OF REGION’S RARE HABITAT Photo by Crystal Cockman Crystal by Photo By Sean Bloom, CLC GIS Director and Biologist his spring, in a small pocket of Gaston slows and widens out across the valley floor, creating a sunny bog. THE BOG IS IN TROUBLE County, slime-covered creatures will The bog that the Conservancy has worked so While the bog itself is open and not shaded, the emerge from the muck and mire. hard to protect over the last 10 years is now at risk. forested slopes help shield the bog below from getting It may sound like a B-movie horror An adjoining property, which surrounds the headwa- too warm in the long, hot Piedmont summers. “It is T flick, but it’s really nothing more than ters for the bog, is for sale and slated to be cleared for the cold groundwater flowing into the bog, keeping it the adorable bog turtles (Glyptemys development. By conserving the adjoining property, cool, which is key for these bog turtles,” says Jeff Hall, muhlenbergii), the smallest turtles the Conservancy will protect the stream and bog as a Wildlife Diversity Biologist with the NCWRC. The in North America. These turtles are listed as Threat- well as the trees which provide the shade that makes shaded, wooded slopes and sunny, open bog create a ened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the clear, cool water an ideal habitat for the bog Goldilocks environment; not too cold and not too hot. and since 2006, Catawba Lands Conservancy has turtles. worked with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission Just right for the little bog turtles! (NCWRC), the USFWS and a private landowner to This population is significant for the species’ protect the stream and bog these turtles call home. survival. According to Professor Shannon Pittman of The clean and cool water entering the bog Davidson College, “isolated populations, like this bog, is one of the many things that makes this area so can be important reservoirs of genetic diversity which inviting for the bog turtles. Normally, bog turtles are can benefit the species at large.” found high up in the Appalachian Mountains, but Not only has the Conservancy protected the bog Gaston County is home to one of the rare Piedmont and surrounding land, but the stewardship team has HELP US populations. During the last ice age, many plants and also recently supervised a bog restoration with the animals were forced south and out of the mountains USFWS to ensure the bog stays wet and mucky. SAVE THE BOG to avoid the ice sheet. As the ice sheet and glaciers retreated, plants and animals began moving north TURTLE’S HOME! and up into higher elevations. Although, in certain instances, With your help, we can save when conditions were just the bog and protect the habitat of right, plants and animals the smallest turtle in North America. stayed in areas isolated from Catawba Lands Conservancy must raise the rest of the population. the remaining $50,000 needed to pur- Such is the case with chase the adjoining property by May 1. Gaston County’s bog turtles. Every dollar donated helps us Here, cool groundwater flows reach this goal and puts us one step from a spring through a forest- closer to saving this fragile ecosystem. ed canopy and into a wide and Please visit catawbalands.org/bog to flat valley that is flanked by make a donation towards the bog! wooded slopes. As the small stream enters the valley it PART OF THE BOG CURRENTLY PROTECTED BY CLC CLC & CTT STAFF Tom Okel – Executive Director Bret Baronak - Carolina Thread Trail Community LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR Coordinator Sean Bloom – GIS Director and Biologist Robin Buckler – Finance Director Saxby Chaplin – Legal Counsel 2017 was another year of unprecedented conservation Matt Covington – Land Acquisition Director growth in our region. In the midst of contin- areas, where the Vanessa Covington – Engagement and Volunteer ued significant development, Catawba Lands effects of our Manager Alesia DiCosola – Development Director Conservancy conserved seven properties total- region’s explo- Lynda Hunley – Land Protection Legal Assistant ing almost 447 acres of permanently protected sive growth and Andy Kane – Carolina Thread Trail Senior Director land. These projects reflect all aspects of our development on Sam Kirk - Stewardship Associate strategic vision to protect land that impacts our river basin Sena McCrory - Program Coordinator water quality, quality of life, wildlife habitat and our water Elizabeth Miller - Executive Team Assistant and local farms, and to advance the Carolina quality are Tammy Pfaff - Land Protection Paralegal Caitlin Reilly – Carolina Thread Trail Davidson Impact Thread Trail. being studied. Fellow It is more clear than ever that we are a You will also Allison Schwartz – Marketing and Communications pivotal part of our region’s growth story. There learn about a rare species of turtle and the Director is still a tremendous opportunity to protect work we are doing to ensure the survival of a Sharon Wilson – Land Stewardship Director and conserve in our region. We are positioned bog they call home. Work like this would not to take advantage of that opportunity in the be possible without donors like you who make CLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS way that will impact the quality of life for it possible for us to protect these properties, so Jonathan Mangels — Chair and Chair, Audit & everyone in this region, today and in the as always, I am grateful for all that you have Finance Committee Partner, Greer Walker future. Completing new projects is a small part done and continue to do to make it possible to CT Anderson of our work; the real impact as an organization carry out our mission to save land and connect Former Director of Sustainability, Belk is how we manage our properties for public lives to nature. Phillips Bragg benefit. Vice President of Planning, Bragg Financial Advisors In this issue, read about research that is JONATHAN MANGELS Jessica Braswell being conducted at Redlair, one of our largest PARTNER, GREER WALKER Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Queens University of Charlotte Nathan Clark Partner, Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLC Dan Clodfelter Community Leader, Former Mayor of Charlotte Jarred Cochran nearly 2 million people with water, will no longer be Vice President, Wells Fargo Securities able to meet our water needs by 2065. Thank you John Culbertson FIELD for helping us protect our region’s water supply! Owner, Cardinal Real Estate Partners, LLC SHARE Charlotte created #GivingTuesdayCLT Ralph Falls in 2014 as a local, annual campaign that leverag- President, Pace Commercial LLC es the global Giving Tuesday movement. It’s an Tom Gates NOTES Attorney, Tilman Thomas Gates, PLC unprecedented collaboration of 230 nonprofits and 117 businesses working together for the greater Claudia Heath Owner, Claudia Heath Fine Art good. SHARE’s mission is to create a more engaged #GIVINGTUESDAYCLT RAISES Lud Hodges $73,370 FOR CONSERVATION community by connecting individuals with local Senior Vice President, Crescent Communities nonprofit organizations. This is CLC’s third year Jim Hovis — Chair, Land Acquisition Committee participating in SHARE Charlotte’s #GivingTuesday- Attorney at Law, Moore & Van Allen, PLLC Thank you to everyone who donated during #Giv- CLT campaign. ingTuesdayCLT! More than 230 local nonprofits raised Dean Jones Senior Vice President of Financial Development, YMCA $7 million during SHARE Charlotte’s local Giving Kelly Katterhagen Tuesday campaign from Nov. 14-28. Founder and Managing Director, BlackArch Partners CLC’s #GivingTuesdayCLT campaign focused CLC WELCOMES NEW PROGRAM Tommy Lee — Chair, Land Stewardship Committee on protecting and sustaining our drinking water, and President, Appian Textiles raised more than $73,000. A 2006 water supply study COORDINATOR SENA MCCRORY John Mader — Chair, Marketing/Outreach Committee projected that with our region’s continuing growth, Vice President, Director of Connections, Wray Ward the Catawba-Wateree River Basin, which sustains Sena McCrory Julianne McCollum joined the Ca- Principal, Yellow Duck Marketing tawba Lands Robert McLean Conservan- Vice President & General Counsel, EnPro Industries cy team in Bill Mumford Vice President, Development, Newland Communities January 2018. Nancy Paschall As program Attorney, Mullen Holland & Cooper P.A. coordinator, Scott Phillips she plans Community Leader and leads Laurie Smith — Chair, Nominating & Governance recreational Committee and educational events along our growing network Counsel, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A of greenways and blueways, exposing the public to Jenny Ward — Vice Chair, Executive Committee Senior Vice President, HR-Organizational Health, Bank of the wonders and the importance of connecting with America nature. Sena is a Charlotte native who spent several years exploring other parts of the country and world CONTACT before returning to her hometown. Office: Her college studies took her to Houston’s 4530 Park Road Rice University where she majored in ecology and Suite 420 she served as a sustainable farm intern in Virginia, Charlotte, N.C. 28209 Maine, Pennsylvania and southern France. Before [email protected] 704-342-3330 joining CLC, Sena worked as an afterschool teacher catawbalands.org at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, S.C. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking and daydreaming about her future farm. This position is supported by a grant from the Women’s Gum Branch Preserve Photo by Nancy Pierce Nancy by Photo Impact Fund. - 2 - CLC WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS Catawba Lands Conservancy is pleased to welcome TOM GATES NATHAN CLARKE Dean Jones, Tom Gates and Nathan Clarke to its Board of Directors. Tom is a founder and Nathan is a partner with Dixon Hughes Goodman, managing partner of leading its tax reform efforts. He has 19 years of Mirador Real Estate public accounting experience, including 15 years DEAN JONES Advisors, a real estate with Big Four and national firms, with a deep focus Dean is a 1982 graduate advisory firm offering on accounting method changes.