0299-GCG-FoothillsConservancy ESG24-FINALb (1) - Flipbook - Page 12
B
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
forest is a transformation into tranquility: crystal clear
water babbling in the brook, craw昀椀sh crawling, and
songbirds singing. “I could pull up a chair and stay
here for hours,” I tell Tom.
Standing among such beautiful biodiversity, it
becomes abundantly clear to me why Foothills
Conservancy protects lands like this. What else makes
these 211 acres that FCNC helped the N.C. Wildlife
C
Resources Commission (NCWRC) purchase and add
to Buffalo Cove Game Land so special?
This property is located in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River
Basin, within which Buffalo Creek is a priority watershed
according to the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan, a
document that the NCWRC uses to prioritize species
Wilson Creek
A Johns River Headwaters
protection. The protection of the Green Rock Creek
B Grandfather Mountain
Buffalo Creek, which hosts a rare native mussel, the
C Brown Mountain
property preserves its many springs that drain into
Brook Floater, and is signi昀椀cant as designated Trout
Waters. The land is an excellent habitat for a range of
other native wildlife species and plants, like Mountain
D
D Wilson Creek Con昀氀uence
FCNC Projects
Heartleaf (Hexastylis contracta), a North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program “Watch List” species.
“We are truly excited about this addition to Buffalo
Cove Game Land, because it checks all the boxes,”
said Paul Thompson, Northern Mountains Land
Management Biologist with NCWRC. “Not only does
it protect habitat for several priority species, but it
also provides connectivity to conserved lands, great
public access, and the opportunity to manage open
bottomland for wildlife, just to name a few.”
This purchase was made possible through direct
funding from NCWRC and a grant to FCNC from
the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, as well as
other private philanthropic contributions, including
the Bernhardt Furniture Foundation. FCNC is grateful
to landowners Joe Doll and Rachel Plaster for their
dedication to permanently conserving the land.
Personally, I’m thankful for the opportunity to visit such
a serene location and elated to know that it will be
publicly accessible and protected forever.
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Green Rock Creek
