Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Bill and Nancy Stanback, Cemala Foundation, Marion Stedman Covington Foundation, Educational Foundation of America, Foundation for the Carolinas and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Foundation, Amy Grissom and David Cohen and Ruth Ann Grissom, Robert Wilson Challenge Fund, and others. View a complete list of supporters.

Make a donation.

Land & Water Conservation Bond Acts of 2007 , cont...

Chief sponsors of the bills in the House and Senate are Rep. Lucy Allen and Sen. Charles Albertson, who were co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Land and Water Conservation Study Commission. The Commission recommended such legislation after hundreds of supporters attended statewide public meetings in January.

How will the money be used:
The vast majority of the bonds would go to land and water trust funds that the state's General Assembly established in the 1980s and 1990s. Funding for those trust funds has been used to protect thousands of miles of drinking and recreational waters in North Carolina, establish state parks, fund local recreation projects, and preserve unique natural areas and historical places. 

Approximately $200 million of the bonds would go toward protecting prime agricultural and forest lands in North Carolina. In 2005, North Carolina lost 1000 farms, leading the nation. Forestry acreage is at its lowest point in decades. During the Commission’s hearings, farmers made strong appeals for the state to help them preserve their farms. Funds would be used to pay landowners for agreements to continue working the land and not to develop their farms or forests.

“The trust funds have done a good job, but rapid land development and skyrocketing land prices have outpaced the trust funds’ ability to keep up,” said Dixon. “Last year, there was a $300 million-plus shortfall in needs compared to funds available.”

According to a Land for Tomorrow report (pdf 400KB), more than 100,000 acres of North Carolina land are developed each year. North Carolina has one of the nation’s fastest growing populations, and more than 3,300 miles of the state’s streams and rivers don’t meet water quality standards. 

Land for Tomorrow is a diverse partnership of more than 250 organizations, including local governments, businesses, conservationists, farmers, foresters, and health care professionals.

View a complete list of the sponsors of both the House and Senate bills.

In the News, cont...
The following articles have run across the state since February 7, 2007:

• Raleigh News & Observer, Letter to the Editor, "Funds for Tomorrow" by Kate Dixon -- March 14, 2007
  
• Smoky Mountain News, Article, "Improving the Science of Development" by Becky Johnson -- March 7, 2007
  
• Macon County News, Article, "NC's Loss of Farms: A Look Inside Land for Tomorrow's Conservation Efforts" by Jessica Richardson -- March 7, 2007
  
• Wilmington Star, Opinion "We Can Save Other Chimney Rocks" by Camilla Herlevich -- March 1, 2007
  
• Winston-Salem Journal, Opinion, "State Should Act to Save Our Farmlands," by Charlie Brummitt -- February 24, 2007
  
• Chatham Journal Weekly, Article, "Commissioner Has a Busy Week" -- February 27, 2007
  
• Raleigh News & Observer, Article, "Bonds Would Benefit Campuses, Inmates" by Ryan Teague Beckwith and Jane Stancill -- February 23, 2007

Land & Water Conservation Lobby Day, Wednesday, April 25
Land and Water Conservation Lobby Day is Wednesday, April 25 in Raleigh. Sign up for Lobby Day. You know first hand about your community's crucial need for greater state investment in our rivers, farms, forests, and historic places. Your legislators want to hear what you think about this issue and why it matters in their districts.

More and more, legislators understand that protecting North Carolina's special places guarantees that our future includes clean drinking water, healthy air, vibrant communities, and economic prosperity. Their growing consciousness gave rise to last session's Land and Water Conservation Study Commission. And now that the Commission has made their recommendations to the General Assembly, our legislators have very concrete choices to make about how to fund protection of our special places in North Carolina.

But money is always tight. Other citizens are expressing different urgent needs. Your legislators need to know that this really matters to their constituents if they are going to vote to put $1 billion toward land and water conservation.

They will listen to citizens when we ask them to make land and water conservation a priority this session. And the most effective way to communicate is to meet face-to-face with our legislators where they work: in the halls of the General Assembly.

Talking to legislators is fun and easy, and on April 25, we are making it even easier. That's the day we've set aside so that, en masse, we can ask our legislators to make this vital investment in our future. We'll provide coffee, talking points, lobbying tips, conversation starters, note cards, and even drinks and appetizers afterwards. All you supply is your time and your passion.

Please join us on April 25 for Land and Water Conservation Lobby Day. This is your chance to engage our legislators in a conversation about why it matters to us and to the state that our rivers, farms, forests, and historic places are here for us, our families, and our future.

Your voice is louder than you think. Sign up today for Lobby Day.

Bill Sponsors
Thank the House sponsors and thank the Senate sponsors for showing leadership and support of land and water conservation!

Senate Bill 1522
Primary Sponsor: Charles Albertson(D)
Co-sponsors: Austin Allran(R); Tom Apodaca(R); Bob Atwater(D); Stan Bingham(R); Julia Boseman(D); Harry Brown(R); Dan Clodfelter(D); Janet Cowell(D); Walter Dalton(D); Katie Dorsett(D);  Steve Goss(D); Malcolm Graham(D); Kay Hagan(D); Fletcher Hartsell(R); David Hoyle(D); Neal Hunt(R); Clark Jenkins(D); Ed Jones(D); Ellie Kinnaird(D); Jean Preston(R); William Purcell(D);  Joe Sam Queen(D); Tony Rand(D); John Snow(D); Richard Stevens(R); A. B. Swindell(D); David Weinstein(D)

House Bill 990 
Primary Sponsors: Lucy Allen(D); William Wainwright(D); Pricey Harrison(D); Philip Haire(D)
Co-sponsors: Martha Alexander(D); Jeff Barnhart(R); Larry Bell(D); Dan Blue(D); Alice Bordsen(D)  Larry Brown(R); Harold Brubaker(R); Becky Carney(D);  Walter Church(D); George Cleveland(R);  Lorene Coates(D)  Linda Coleman(D); William Current(R);  Margaret Dickson(D); Jerry Dockham (R); Nelson Dollar(R);  Bobby England(D); Bill Faison(D); Jean Farmer-Butterfield(D); Susan Fisher(D);  Pryor Gibson(D); Rick Glazier(D); Bruce Goforth(D); Melanie Goodwin(D); Jim Gulley(R);  Larry Hall(D); Ty Harrell(D); Dewey Hill(D); Hugh Holliman(D); Verla Insko(D); Maggie Jeffus(D); Carolyn Justice(R); James Langdon(R); Marvin Lucas(D); Paul Luebke (D); Daniel McComas(R); Bill McGee(R); Marian McLawhorn(D); Tim Moore(R); Bill Owens(D); Earline Parmon(D);  Louis Pate(R);  Garland Pierce(D); Ray Rapp(D); Deborah Ross(D); Drew Saunders(D); Mitchell Setzer(R);  Timothy Spear(D); Fred Steen(R); Bonner Stiller(R); Cullie Tarleton(D); Charles Thomas(R);  Joe Tolson(D); Alice Underhill(D); Edith Warren(D); Jennifer Weiss(D); Winkie Wilkins(D);  Arthur Williams(D); Larry Womble(D); Michael Wray(D); Thomas Wright(D)