NEWS

Carolina Environmental Program is helping to coordinate statewide conservation plan meetings

CHAPEL HILL -- Local government officials and conservation groups are among the participants who attended the first meeting to discuss "One North Carolina Naturally," a new statewide land and water protection initiative established to guide North Carolina’s future conservation efforts.

The first of eight planned regional meetings was held today (Sept. 12) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. North Carolina Central University and Duke University are co-sponsors of the meeting.

The "One North Carolina Naturally" initiative, developed by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has been established to lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive statewide conservation plan, involving government agencies, private organizations, landowners and the public.

Other regional meetings focusing on "One North Carolina Naturally" will be held through the beginning of November in Wilmington, Asheville, Boone, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro and Greenville. The meetings, which are being coordinated by the DENR and UNC’s Carolina Environmental Program, have been funded through a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

"The plan will focus on maintaining functional ecosystems, biological diversity and working landscapes through the stewardship of land and water resources as North Carolina continues to grow," Richard Rogers, the department’s director of Conservation and Community Affairs, said. "It will help us conserve and restore the state’s natural heritage and sustain a healthy quality of life for North Carolinians and our guests."

Today’s attendees included directors and conservation professionals from local councils of government; county and municipal government officials; locally based state and federal government staff; and representatives from Soil and Water Conservation Districts, conservation groups and land trusts. The meeting presented the state’s activities in developing a framework for conservation throughout North Carolina, solicited feedback regarding the development of the comprehensive plan and the establishment of a network of conservation professionals to work at all levels to create and then implement a land and water conservation plan.

Additional information on the regional meetings, "One North Carolina Naturally" and other conservation programs is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.enr.state.nc.us/officeofconservation/index.html. Information about related research at UNC is available at http://www.cep.unc.edu/level_3/research/resnetworks.html.

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UNC Carolina Environmental Program contact: Tony Reevy, (919) 966-9927