3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2002

Todd Miller, executive director
252-393-8185
toddm@nccoast.org

Stage Now Set For Largest Wetland
Restoration Project Ever In State's History

     Ocean – The North Carolina Coastal Federation today acquired the final piece of coastal farmland that will become part of one of the largest efforts to restore wetlands in state history.
     Using $3 million from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the federation closed today on more than 2,168.53 acres of North River Farms in Carteret County.
     The property acquired today adjoins three other parts of the farm that have recently been purchased and slated for wetlands restoration. These other tracts include 1,991 acres that the group bought with a $1 million grant from the trust fund two years ago, and two privately held parcels totaling more than 1,800 acres that will also be restored as wetlands.
     Bulldozers will arrive on the property in January to begin the long process of turning the farmland back into swamps. The restoration project, one of the largest in the state, will eventually improve water quality in surrounding creeks and could once again make them productive fishing grounds for oysters and clams. Once completed, the sprawling 6,000-acre Farm will be restored and protected as wetlands.
     "Public and private partnerships are at work on this land to turn back the clock to the days when it was covered with wetlands," said Todd Miller, executive director of the federation. "When we're done, there will be around 6,000 acres of swamps to buffer water quality in the downstream tidal creeks and sounds." 
     Bordering the North River, Core Sound, and the upper reaches of Jarrett's Bay, the swampy land was drained and converted to cropland over the last several decades. Williston, Wade, Middens and Ward creeks begin on the property. Many of these waters are now too polluted for shellfish harvest because of high bacteria counts contained in runoff from drained land.
     "At the time this land was ditched and drained, no one realized how much impact runoff had on downstream water quality," said Miller. "Now we know that good water quality and healthy fisheries depend on wetlands, and this project will provide a big sponge in the headwaters of coastal waters that should become cleaner and more productive."
     Polluted runoff is responsible for closing thousands of acres of once productive shellfishing grounds all along the NC coast. It is also a reason why the state's oyster population has declined by more than 90 percent in the last 100 years.
     Today's purchase agreement contains an innovative clause that will allow the project to pay for part of the restoration cost. The sellers, James and Billie Winslow of Elizabeth City, can continue farming the land under a lease with the federation for 10 years. The group will use the $1.4 million in lease payments to restore the property after the Winslows leave.
     Private funds were used to buy the remaining 1,800 acres of the farm. About 400 acres were purchased by a Raleigh company that restores wetlands to mitigate for impacts of development projects. Another group of investors worked with the federation to buy 1,435 acres in October. This land is being enrolled in the wetland reserve program operated by the US Department of Agriculture, and will become a private hunting reserve.
     Restoring the wetlands on the first piece will begin in January. It is anticipated that around 4,000 acres will be restored and protected in the next 4 to 5 years, with the final 2,000 acres to be restored when the farm lease expires.