What started as one man’s vision 40 years ago, is now closer to completion than it has been since, and volunteers from near and far are joining together to see it achieved. Joe Moffitt tells how the idea for the Uwharrie Trail came about when his Boy Scout troop was driving up to the southern Appalachians for their 50 mile hike and getting lost in those unfamiliar woods. The son of a trapper himself, he knew the woods and streams of the Uwharries like the back of his hand, and his community connection meant he could procure the necessary handshake agreements to start a 50 mile trail right here – and the Uwharrie Trail was born.

In the past 20 years many sections of the original trail on private land have closed as property was sold or left to heirs who no longer live here. Thanks to the joint efforts of The LandTrust, the NC Zoo, the US Forest Service, and many others, several of the gaps in the trail have now been filled, making the permanent public ownership of the trail in those sections a reality. The LandTrust purchased Little Long Mountain with loans last year, and has begun building the new trail through that property. Trail workdays have already begun and will continue to take place on the second Saturdays of February, March, April, May, and June (please visit www.landtrustcnc.org to learn how you can help).

Thanks to the partnership of the NC Zoo and the NC Zoo Society, another new Uwharrie Trail tract has been secured: the McArthur Property, a 45-acre tract with frontage on High Pine Church Road. This critical property was for sale and the Zoo – through its nonprofit arm the NC Zoo Society – was able to use funds from a bequest to secure it. This unique property has frontage on High Pine Church Road that will allow for development of a new trailhead and small parking area, while also providing landscape-scale views. This property adds another 4 miles north from Thayer Road over King Mountain and the Walkers Creek area of the national forest, bringing the length of the contiguous trail to nearly 30 miles. The goal for this project is to transfer this property to the US Forest Service (USFS) as a land exchange, with the Zoo acquiring from USFS a portion of a property outside of their proclamation boundary but in the immediate viewshed of the entrance to the Zoo. Thanks so much to the Zoo for making this project possible and enabling this next section of the Uwharrie Trail to be realized!

A special thanks to David Craft for providing option funds for the property, and to David Craft and David Gardener for hosting and organizing trail workdays. Funds for trail layout and establishment were provided through the NC Adopt-A-Trail Grant Program.

Our annual meeting this year will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at Morgan Ridge Vineyards at 3:30pm (486 John Morgan Road, Gold Hill, NC 28071). LandTrust staff will share briefly about the conservation success stories you have made possible this year, followed by wine and hors d’oevres. For those interested, we will tour an adjacent property possessing a unique natural community called a Goldhill Flatwoods ecosystem before the meeting. The landowners here are restoring 50 acres to a savanna/woodland, and more than 160 native plants are found here in this rapidly declining habitat type.

Date:  June 2, 2013
Time:  2:30pm – 5:30pm
Location:  486 John Morgan Road, Gold Hill, NC 28071

Join us for Earth Day Jam, at Saving Grace Farm on April 20, 2013! Great music, food, brews, vendors and more! Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

Nature Day at the Nichols Longleaf Pine Preserve

Date: April 13, 2013
Time: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

3239 NC HWY 134 N, TROY, NC 27371
CONTACT PERSON: NELL ALLEN, NC ZOOLOGICAL PARK, 336-879-7409

Join us for this fantastic field day event! Activity stations and short hikes will be held throughout the Margaret J. Nichols Longleaf Pine Preserve, focusing on longleaf pine ecosystems and the turpen-tine industry, the history of the Nichols family and the Preserve, prescribed fire, local archeology, wildlife, and invasive species.

This unique property was protected in 2012 through a partnership with The LandTrust for Central NC and the NC Zoo.

The kick-off event will be held Friday, April 12, 2013 from 7:00-8:30pm at Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Office at 203 West Main St. in Troy, featuring a presentation by Larry Earley, author of “Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest.” Come join the fun!

Sponsored by the Greater Uwharrie Conservation Partnership and the NC Science Festival.

 “Looking for Longleaf” Presentation by Larry Earley

Date: April 12, 2013
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Come learn about the history of the longleaf pine in North Carolina from Larry Earley, author of “Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest.”

Sponsored by the Greater Uwharrie Conservation Partnership, and the NC Science Festival.

Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Office
203 W. Main St., Troy, NC

Contact: Nell Allen, 336-879-7409
Free admission.

You won’t want to miss this year’s Earth Day Jam, at Saving Grace Farm on April 20, 2013! Great music, food, brews, vendors and more! Featured artist Larry Keel and Natural Bridge and thirteen other bands performing this year! Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

The LandTrust for Central NC is excited to be partnering with the Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) through their Max Mukelabai Diversity Internship Program, and is seeking a Community Outreach Intern for Summer 2013.

Click here to see CTNC website description and more info: http://www.ctnc.org/ltcnc-intern/

Community Outreach Intern

Location: Asheboro, NC

The Community Outreach Intern will assist with our outreach efforts, with a particular focus on broadening the base and connecting with Spanish-speaking members of our service area.

Communication Outreach Intern’s Duties will include: 

• Writing press releases and stories featured in our newsletter
• Updating our website and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter
• Assisting with coordinating and setting up for outreach events.
• Producing some outreach materials in Spanish
• Providing talks or hikes with a Spanish-speaking leader (These could include school programs, natural history and biodiversity hikes, farmland focused talks, and environmental health information.)

One possible additional product might be a video of our work, interviewing conservation easement donors and other partners, and sharing conservation success stories that could be displayed in the community. Another component of the internship might be looking at how to more effectively use outreach activities to have a more visible presence throughout our region, which would lead to increased awareness and support of conservation work.

Qualifications: Fluency in Spanish, public relations, excellent writing and computer skills, journalism/marketing experience, knowledgeable of various social media tools, good interpersonal skills.

The intern should be comfortable spending time outdoors in general. It is expected that the intern will spend some time actually walking and becoming familiar with LandTrust properties and meeting landowners and volunteers, helping host hikes and events. Familiarity with and passion for land conservation and natural history is a plus.

How to apply:

To apply for this internship, complete this form and email your resume and cover letter to Crystal Cockman at crystal@landtrustcnc.org by March 15, 2013 at 5pm. If you have questions or require more information, contact Crystal at (336)633-0143. Learn more about the LandTrust for Central North Carolina at http://landtrustcnc.org.

Max Mukelabai Diversity Internship Program

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina invites you to help us shape the future of our state by encouraging students to intern at one of North Carolina’s land trusts or with our partner organizations this summer.

In 2008, CTNC established an internship program for students of color, focusing our outreach at our state’s 10 historically black colleges and universities. In 2009 and 2010 we expanded our campus outreach to include the entire University of North Carolina system. Since the program’s inception, we have supported 33 interns at 20 land trusts and other partner organizations across the state. Through this program, CTNC and our local partners introduce promising students to careers in conservation and introduce conservation organizations to potential employees. Interns are placed with host organizations for full-time, 10-week, paid internships that provide hands-on opportunities to gain the skills and experiences necessary for a successful career in conservation. Preference is given to rising juniors, seniors, and graduate/professional students.

CTNC recently renamed the program the Max Mukelabai Diversity Internship Program to honor CTNC board member Max Mukelabai. Max was a dynamic young leader who joined CTNC’s board in 2008 and passed away suddenly on July 8, 2011, at the age of 36. Max was born in Zambia and raised in Zimbabwe. In 1998, he co-founded the Middle East News Service Inc., a global media service provider and syndicator of news and information about the Middle East and North Africa. Max was the principal of Maximo Mukelabai, CPA, PC, in Durham and had recently been elected chairman of the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants. He contributed greatly to CTNC through his service on the board’s finance committee. Max had a global perspective and was deeply committed to the CTNC’s Conservation and Diversity Project.

The Max Mukelabai Diversity Internship Program is supported by gifts from private individuals.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina is an equal opportunity employer.

Compensation

Undergraduate stipends are generally $3,000 for the summer. Graduate stipends are generally $3,300.

More about land trusts

CTNC (www.ctnc.org) is a statewide, non-profit land trust that represents, assists and promotes local land trusts so that they can protect more land in their communities. Through partnerships with landowners, communities and public agencies, land trusts save the places you love across North Carolina.

Visit www.ctnc.org/diversityinterns to see what former interns had to say about their experiences.

Title: Spencer Woods Trail Workday
Description: Spencer Woods Trail Workday this Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon! Anyone who wants to come out and help volunteer please contact Andrew at 704-647-0302.
Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2013-02-16
End Time: 12:00

Uwharrie Naturalist Weekend, Focus on Breeding Birds

When: May 4th and 5th, 2013
Where: LandTrust’s Low Water Bridge Preserve (near Troy NC)
What: Hikes, Bird observation, Nature study, Canoe trip, Option to camp

Please join The LandTrust and staff from the NC Museum of Sciences for a weekend of nature exploration in the Uwharries, with a focus on breeding birds. This naturalist weekend is the first of its kind in our area and features our  beautiful 1300-acre Low Water Bridge Preserve on the Uwharrie River.

John Gerwin, ornithologist at the NC Museum of Sciences in Raleigh, and field staff will be helping host our first Uwharrie Naturalist Weekend on May 4th and 5th. John and LandTrust staff member, Crystal Cockman, will be leading hikes in the morning and afternoon on various trails on our Low Water Bridge Preserve, pointing out unique bird species by sight and sound along the way. This is the prime of birding season for neotropical migrants, so we will be sure to hear and see birds like red-eyed vireos, Louisiana waterthrush, ovenbirds, summer tanagers, prothonotary warblers, and more.

John will also be mist-netting some birds for folks to see and hold. Hikes will also feature discussions on native plants and any herps or other species we find along the way. There will be a morning and an afternoon hike both days, starting at 9am and 1pm.

Crystal will also be leading a canoe trip with very limited spots available on Saturday afternoon, but open to anyone who brings their own canoe or kayak.

There will be an option to camp on Saturday night, and we will do a late evening hike as well, listening for owls and nightjars. Feel free to come to one or both hikes either or both days, as we will hike different trails and are sure to see different wildlife every trip.

The event is free but you must sign up, to RSVP please call or email Crystal at 336-633-0143 or crystal@landtrustcnc.org.

Photo credits: Autumn Michael, Dr. Joe Poston, Crystal Cockman.