Unfulfilled Promise The Million Acres Initiative and the Need to Protect North Carolina’s Open Spaces Unfulfilled Promise The Million Acres Initiative and the Need to Protect North Carolina’s Open Spaces Kari Wohlschlegel, Frontier Group Elizabeth Ouzts, Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center January 2010 Acknowledgments The authors thank Debbie Crane at the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conser- vancy and Edgar Miller of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina for their insightful review of this report. Thanks also to Tony Dutzik, Susan Rakov and Rob Kerth of Frontier Group for their editorial assistance. Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center thanks The Educational Founda- tion of America and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for making this report possible. The authors bear responsibility for any factual errors. The recommendations are those of Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or those who provided review. © 2010 Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center The Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to protecting North Carolina’s air, water and open spaces. We investi- gate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision-makers, and help North Carolinians make their voices heard in local, state and national debates over the quality of our environment and our lives. For more information about Environment North Caro- lina Research & Policy Center or for additional copies of this report, please visit www. environmentnorthcarolina.org. Frontier Group conducts independent research and policy analysis to support a cleaner, healthier and more democratic society. Our mission is to inject accurate information and compelling ideas into public policy debates at the local, state and federal levels. For more information about Frontier Group, please visit www.frontiergroup.org. Cover photo: David Dea, under license from shutterstock.com. Layout: Harriet Eckstein Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 North Carolina’s Open Spaces Are Threatened by Development 5 The Importance of Protecting Natural Spaces 5 Open Spaces Under Threat 9 The Million Acre Initiative Has Preserved Important Lands, But Has Fallen Short of its Goal 12 The Million Acre Initiative 12 An Assessment of North Carolina’s Conservation Efforts 15 Conclusion and Recommendations 20 Notes 21 Executive Summary rom the Smoky Mountains to the Out- polluted water than to prevent er Banks, North Carolina is renowned contamination through watershed Ffor its natural beauty. Unfortunately, protection. rapid development over the past several decades has threatened many of our most • Natural lands help the economy by treasured open spaces. attracting tourists, improving retail Recognizing the importance of pre- sales, and creating job opportunities. serving our natural places for ourselves The Blue Ridge Parkway alone at- and future generations, North Carolina’s tracts 21 million visitors and contrib- General Assembly established the Million utes $2 billion to the economy each Acre Initiative to protect one million acres year. of land between January 1, 1999 and De- cember 31, 2009. While many important North Carolina’s natural lands are and beautiful places were protected in the threatened by development. process, it is now clear that North Carolina has fallen short of this goal. • Between 1987 and 2007, an average of At the start of a new decade, it is vital 325 acres of natural lands were con- that North Carolina redouble its commit- verted to residential or commercial ment to protecting important natural lands use in North Carolina every day. from development. • North Carolina has lost more than Protecting open spaces is vital to one million acres of natural lands in North Carolina’s future. the past decade, more than any other state in the U.S. • Protecting land near reservoirs, rivers and groundwater recharge zones im- • Rapid development is expected to proves the quality of drinking water. continue, especially once the nation’s The U.S. EPA estimates that it is 20 economy recovers. By 2030, North to 400 times more expensive to treat Carolina’s population will total Executive Summary 12 million people, an increase of near- • Failure to meet the Million Acre ly one third over current numbers. Goal is the result of insufficient funding throughout the life of the North Carolina’s Million Acre Initia- Initiative. In 2008, for example, tive has protected many important natu- there was a shortfall of over ral places, but the state has fallen far short $140 million between requested of achieving the million acre goal. and allocated funds. • North Carolina created the Million • The problem of insufficient funding Acre Initiative in response to com- intensified during the recent munity meetings that highlighted the recession. Although the Clean Water need for open space preservation. The Management Trust Fund board Initiative set a goal of protecting one awarded more than $65 million for million acres between January 1, 1999 land acquisition in 2008, most of that and December 31, 2009. money was reallocated to other areas of the state budget. In its 2009 session, • Among the important natural places the General Assembly put another protected through the initiative are: $50 million into the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, but six o Grandfather Mountain located in months into the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Avery, Watauga and Caldwell coun- the state has not released any of that ties. The conservation of this sce- money toward land acquisition. nic, mountainous area enabled the creation of North Carolina’s 34th North Carolina must renew its com- state park—Grandfather Mountain mitment to land preservation. State Park. • The state must commit to achieving o Chimney Rock - a place of great the original goal of the Million Acres natural beauty, complete with Initiative at the soonest possible unique geological formations, time to ensure protection for North breathtaking vistas and spectacular Carolina’s most valuable natural waterfalls. places. o 64,000 acres of game lands sur- • Recognizing the potential of land rounding the Roanoke, Upper conservation to bolster the state’s Tar and Chowan Rivers in the economy, the state must begin to northeast, and Juniper Creek in release money from the Parks and southeastern North Carolina. This Recreation Trust Fund, the Natural transaction is the largest conserva- Heritage Trust Fund and the Clean tion deal in the state’s history. Water Management Trust Fund for land acquisition. • By the end of 2008, 643,209 acres had been preserved under the Million • North Carolina must continue to Acre Initiative, less than two-thirds pursue the protection of ecologically the amount originally pledged. Due sensitive areas, such as land around to the downturn in the economy, land Chimney Rock State Park, Hanging preservation efforts in North Carolina Rock State Park, and the Mountains- slowed dramatically in 2009. to-Sea Trail. 2 Unfulfilled Promise Introduction orth Carolina is growing at a break- lost 160,000 acres of cropland—lands that neck speed. Since 1980, our state has are important not only for the production Nadded 3.3 million new residents.1 of food, but also for local ecosystems.3 Over that time—a little more than a gen- A decade ago, reflecting an increasing eration—our population has increased by sense of urgency to preserve what was left an incredible 57 percent. of North Carolina’s natural heritage before Growth has brought many good things it was lost forever, the state committed to to North Carolina, including new eco- protecting a million acres of open space by nomic and cultural opportunities. But the beginning of 2010. The Million Acre North Carolina’s recent growth has often Initiative represented an important com- taken place in ways that put our environ- mitment to North Carolina’s future—one ment and the state’s natural heritage at insufficient to prevent the loss of all trea- risk. Sprawling development patterns have sured open spaces in North Carolina, but resulted in the conversion of open space one strong enough to ensure that at least to development at a rate faster than that of our most precious natural areas would re- population growth.2 main for ourselves and future generations As North Carolina’s rapidly growing of North Carolinians to enjoy. metropolitan areas—from Charlotte to the As this report will show, North Caro- Triangle to the Triad—have sprawled out- lina has fallen well short of achieving the ward, important natural areas have been in million acres goal—a failure that will have the path of development. Forests, wetlands, repercussions for North Carolinians and prime farmland, and cherished pockets of our environment for the long term. nature have been lost at a dizzying rate. But while the deadline for the Million Since 1987, over one million acres of Acre Initiative may have passed, the job of forest land in North Carolina—an area the protecting North Carolina’s natural heri- size of Wake, Durham and Mecklenburg tage is far from over. The current recession, counties combined—have been converted with its easing of development pressure on from natural area to developed area. In the the state’s open spaces, gives North Caro- last two decades alone, the coastal counties lina a reprieve—a time to reflect on the Introduction successes and shortcomings of the Million needed to fulfill that commitment—North Acre Initiative and to redouble our com- Carolina can help bring about a welcome mitment to land preservation. recovery of our economy and ensure that By renewing our commitment to the that recovery does not result in the un- preservation of our forests, farms and open welcome destruction of the open spaces spaces—and by committing the resources we hold dear. From Grandfather Mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina is renowned for its natural heritage.