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TLC Wins Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award

By Olivia Bowler, Director of Communications

TLC’s Leigh Ann Hammerbacher, Christine Wilson, Sandy Sweitzer, and Matt Rutledge pictured with TLC Board Chair Bert Fisher. Photo by NCWF

On Saturday May 3, Triangle Land Conservancy won Conservation Organization of the Year at North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s 60th Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards in Cary.  

First presented in 1958, the NCWF Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards are the highest natural resource honors given in the state. This year, TLC was among 19 honorees.  

Edward Nickens, journalist and Communications Editor for NCWF, emceed the awards and introduced TLC with this summary:

“For 42 years, the Triangle Land Conservancy has been working to conserve land that isn’t doing a dadgum thing. Except cleaning water. And pumping out oxygen. And providing critical wildlife habitat. And giving folks places to hike and heal.  

2024 was a milestone year for TLC, as the organization beat its goal announced in 2018 of conserving 25,000 acres by 2025—by a full year. And in just the past year, TLC protected 1,544 acres valued at $26 million and has an additional 1,800 acres in the works. Land that’s just sitting there. Doing nothing. Except everything. 

Last year I got to see how TLC works, up close, as I watched with great interest how they moved to purchase and conserve 400 acres of Upper Neuse River farm and forestland, which I roamed for 14 years. I saw how they worked with the farmer who leased the land to help maintain his stewardship. I saw how deeply they dug for some $3 million to make the deal work. I saw how they took a piece of property that most likely was slated for warehouses and turned it into a cornerstone of open land in one of the most highly pressured corners of the Triangle. 

In short, I saw why Triangle Land Conservancy has been named the Governor’s Conservation Organization of the Year.” 

TLC Executive Director Sandy Sweitzer accepting the award. Photo by NCWF

The recognition comes at a crucial time as we continue to accelerate our pace of conservation in a rapidly growing region. Like many conservation organizations, TLC is up against soaring land costs and other challenges compounded by accelerated development in the center of the state.  

Executive Director Sandy Sweitzer said in her acceptance remarks that she hopes the win highlights the good work of the organization and the level of community support that TLC has. She also hopes the award underscores the need to do more.  

“It’s a joy to work with such a smart, diverse, and dedicated community of people who value wildlife and wild places and are committed to helping everyone feel that they belong — on the land and in the conservation sector.”

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.