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Day: March 3, 2025

TLC Surpasses Goal to Conserve 25,000 Acres of Land in the Triangle by 2025

By Cara Lewis, Senior Communications Manager Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC)  surpassed a strategic goal set in 2018 to permanently protect and steward 25,000 acres of land across the Triangle by 2025. As of April 1, 2024, TLC has conserved 25,035 acres.  “Thanks to willing landowners, the state of North Carolina, partnerships with local counties and […]

Celebrating 2024 PINES Graduates and New Internships

By Cara Lewis Pathways Into Natural Environments and Science (PINES) was created to establish opportunities for high school students to network and explore careers in conservation and natural resources. TLC’s PINES program returned this spring for its third year, welcoming 10 students from Knightdale High School (KHS) to learn about and explore the outdoors with us. This immersive […]

New conservation easement creates 303-acre corridor of protected land along Middle Creek

By Olivia Garcia, Communications Manager In November 2024, Triangle Land Conservancy partnered with the Hedges family to conserve 64 acres of historic farmland in Johnston County known as the Hedges Farm. This donated working lands conservation easement will protect vital farmland, forest, water resources, and natural habitats along Middle Creek. The conservation of this land […]

Visit Triangle Land Conservancy

P.O. Box 1848
Durham, NC 27702
919-908-8809
triangleland.org

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Vanishing Wildlife Habitat

Worldwide we are experiencing the greatest acceleration in animal and plant species extinction in human history. North Carolina is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, yet rapid development across the Triangle is destroying natural habitats at an alarming rate.

Increase in Natural Disasters

Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency causing flooding, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and massive wildfires. Lower-income communities are disproportionately impacted, largely due to historical racial inequities.

Inequitable Access to Land and Nature

For generations, people of color were denied access to public parks and beaches. By 2050, people of color will make up 45% of our local population yet nearly 75% of US communities of color lack access to safe and maintained outdoor spaces — compared with 23% of White communities. We must inspire and engage more diverse citizens to advocate for equity in land ownership and promote preservation.

Declining Public Health

Experts recently declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health with rates of depression, anxiety, and trauma soaring. Children spend an average of 6.5 hours a day in front of a screen and almost half of adults don’t get enough physical activity that is key to preventing chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression.

Disappearing Farms

By 2040, North Carolina is expected to develop 11% of its farmland, nearly 1.2 million acres, the second-highest rate of conversion in the country. Johnston and Wake are the 19th and 32nd most vulnerable counties in the U.S. Since 2014, Wake County has lost 22,964 acres of farm and forest land — that’s almost 20%. Historically, land ownership by Black farmers has dropped more than 85% in the US over the last century.

Exponential Growth and Development

North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, and the Triangle is predicted to attract 40% of projected growth. In the last decade, one in four new residents moved to Wake County, and Johnston County is seeing the fastest percentage growth in the state. The pace of development is forcing land prices to skyrocket throughout the region.