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Haw River Property
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farmland |  |
water resources |  |
natural heritage |  |
urban natural areas |
Guilford County - 156 acres protected
Anonymous.
Donation of Land.
First, the land was a dense forest bordering a small river, then it became a hardscrabble tobacco farm, and then northern Guilford County's next great suburban neighborhood.
But the recession stopped those development plans dead in their tracks. And now, thanks to the Piedmont Land Conservancy,the 156-acre tract off Lake Brandt Road in northern Guilford County is a protected expanse of forest and open land on its way back to becoming ... a farm.
"It was donated to us. And our intent is to own it for a few years, take care of it and conserve it, and then sell it with a conservation easement," Kevin Redding.
Ideally, the property's eventual buyer will use part of the land to grow crops or raise livestock, Redding said. The conservation easement would prevent farming or other development within 300 feet of the Haw River that borders the property, several miles upstream from Haw River State Park.
The conservancy will keep the land for several years primarily because of the intricacies of tax law, Redding said. The group plans to spend that time improving the tract's wildlife habitat using controlled burns and other regenerative techniques.
But it will be time to sell the property once the habitat is back in balance and the intricacies of tax law negotiated, Redding said. The deed will limit the buyer to building one house on the land along with any barns or other necessary outbuildings. And it will require the new owner to conserve the pollution-squelching, 300-foot buffer along the river. PLC will use proceeds from the sale to invest in other conservation projects, Redding said.
Source: Greensboro News & Record (NC) - Sunday, December 5, 2010
Author: TAFT WIREBACK
Project funding provided by PLC.