Terry Sharpe is no stranger to land conservation, having previously protected 114 acres in 2013 with Three Rivers Land Trust (TRLT). Terry has continued his efforts to protect native plants and wildlife habitat by placing an additional 90 acres into a conservation easement with TRLT. This newly protected property is situated less than a mile south of the property Terry protected over a decade ago, near the Town of Ellerbe.
Terry has spent a lifetime in conservation, as a retired biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and as an active land manager who regularly improves his property to support native plants, pollinators and wildlife. After acquiring this property, Terry removed loblolly pines and established a longleaf pine ecosystem, with a native understory of grasses and forbs.
Terry stewards this property, utilizing prescribed fire and is active with the Sandhills Prescribed Fire Association (SPBA). Frequent prescribed burns on this property have resulted in a richly diverse native plant population supported by the reduced litter layer as a result of the controlled burns. The burns allow more sunlight to reach the understory and increase the biodiversity of plants and wildflowers found on the site.
This property also hosts a native pollinator plot where the complex variety of plant species changes over time as a result of management techniques. Terry collects and sells wildflower seeds to various vendors from this property to continue supporting of native plants across the region.
This property hosts a rare native plant community for South Central North Carolina of skunk cabbage, a flowering plant found in low-lying wetlands. This plant is recognized as significant by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program due to its vulnerability to extinction, as well as its importance for pollinators.
“Partnering with Three Rivers Land Trust has given me the peace of mind that my property, which has been managed for native pollinators, plants, and wildlife, will not become a housing development and instead remain undeveloped,” said Terry.
“It is always exciting to see land conserved in perpetuity,” stated Kyle Shores, Senior Land Protection Specialist at Three Rivers Land Trust in a press release. “But when the land is conserved with such an experienced land manager like Terry, you really walk away from the project knowing the property will continue to be a thriving community for native plants and wildlife.”
“Terry has dedicated his life to conservation and is a phenomenal steward of the land. TRLT is grateful to be able to work with Terry to meet his conservation goal on an additional 90 acres,” said Executive Director Travis Morehead.
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Contributed article/photo.
