A Moore County family has permanently protected 467 acres of land along Drowning Creek through a conservation agreement with Three Rivers Land Trust, the organization announced Thursday.
The property sits along the headwaters of the Lumber River and is part of a watershed classified by the state as high quality. The creek also serves as the primary drinking water source for the Southern Pines area.
According to the land trust, protecting the land will help preserve water quality in the watershed and maintain wildlife habitat in the Sandhills region.
The land belongs to the Auman family, who approached the organization with the goal of keeping the property undeveloped and permanently conserved. The project was completed with grant funding from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund.
“This land has been in our family for 150 years,” the Auman family said in a statement. “The North Carolina Land and Water Fund and Three Rivers Land Trust have enabled us to protect it for future generations. It is a special honor to help conserve Moore County’s precious water supply.”
Kyle Shores, senior land protection specialist with Three Rivers Land Trust, said the project also protects riparian buffers along the creek and preserves important wildlife habitat.
Shores said the property is actively managed as a longleaf pine ecosystem, a habitat type considered important for many wildlife species in the Sandhills.
Executive Director Travis Morehead said the conservation effort will benefit both the creek and residents who rely on the watershed.
“The forethought of the Auman family permanently conserving their land with TRLT will directly benefit the water quality of Drowning Creek and, by extension, the residents of Moore County,” Morehead said.
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Photo via Three Rivers Land Trust.
