+ 432 Acres Protected in Alamance
Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area nearly Doubles in Size
Recent land acquisition secured an additional 432-acres for the park
Today, Alamance County Recreation & Parks, The Conservation Fund and Piedmont Land Conservancy announced the addition of 432 acres to the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area in Snow Camp, North Carolina. The property, known as the Sizemore addition, will nearly double the size of the Natural Area, bringing it to roughly 1,000 acres of County-owned, protected, publicly accessible park land.
Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area opened to the public in May of 2020, providing access to Alamance County’s largest state-significant natural heritage area. The new Sizemore addition will expand hiking trails and opportunities for nature exploration.
“This acquisition protects one of the most unique and beautiful places in the Piedmont,” said Brian Baker, director of Alamance Parks. “Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area will be a tremendous boost to the health and happiness of Alamance County citizens as well as our local economy. We cannot wait to share this unspoiled land with the people of North Carolina.”
The Conservation Fund, a national environmental nonprofit, purchased the Sizemore addition in 2018 and held it until Alamance County could secure funding from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund to add it to their park system. The Conservation Fund also played in important role securing land and raising private fundraising dollars for the creation of Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area.
“Thousand-acre parks in the Piedmont are rare,” said Bill Holman, The Conservation Fund’s North Carolina state director. “This conservation effort at the Cane Creek Mountains not only provides new recreational opportunities, but it also protects habitat for wildlife and water quality for the community.”
Partners, including Alamance County Recreation & Parks, The Conservation Fund, and Piedmont Land Conservancy, helped establish the Natural Area and continue working to conserve the core of the Cane Creek Mountains. About halfway between the growing Piedmont Triad and Research Triangle regions, conserved open space like the Cane Creek Mountains is critical for wildlife habitat, ecological value, and water quality for local communities. The forested Sizemore addition is rich with carbon-capturing trees like Piedmont monadnock, dry oak-hickory, and longleaf pine—which was replanted on a portion of the property that had historically been longleaf pine habitat.
“Piedmont Land Conservancy’s stewardship director, Dr. Ken Bridle, was the first to recognize that the site may have once been home to longleaf pine,” said Kevin Redding, the Conservancy’s executive director. “We are thrilled to see the park created and the longleaf pine restoration as a major component.”
This project was funded by the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, formerly known as the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, which helps improve water quality, sustain ecological diversity, and protect historic sites in the state. Fred and Alice Stanback of Salisbury, North Carolina, and Brad and Shelli Stanback of Canton, North Carolina also made generous donations to make this project possible. Support from North Carolina Senator Amy Scott Galey and State Representative Dennis Riddell also help ensure park conservation projects like this one can succeed.
“This beautiful and ecologically significant park will not only provide habitat and recreational opportunities, but it will also help protect the water quality of the Haw River and Jordan Lake,” said state Sen. Amy Galey. “I am proud that the park was created without county tax dollars, instead leveraging other resources. This is an outstanding investment for our children and all future generations.”
“North Carolina’s parks are among the most popular in the United States and are growing through the legislature’s financial commitments to land, water and recreation trust funds,” said state Rep. Dennis Riddell. “It is exciting to see this funding benefit Alamance County with a new acquisition for the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area. I look forward to sharing our new outdoor recreation resources with others here in Alamance County as well as citizens from across our state.”
The North Carolina Park & Recreation Trust Fund provided matching funds to Alamance Parks to construct trails and open the park to the public. The North Carolina General Assembly appropriates funds to both the state’s Land & Water Fund and Parks & Recreation Trust Fund.
Ready to visit this beautiful spot? Check out Alamance Park’s website for all the info you need.
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Hollyview Farm
Honoring Heritage & Protecting
North Carolina’s Agricultural Future
Seventy-five acres protected through a conservation easement
donated by the Bunker descendants.
January 2026
Driving south out of Mt. Airy, NC on Highway 601, you move through a corridor of commercial sprawl with stoplights and strip malls, until, just before Stewart’s Creek, everything changes. In a blink, pavement gives way to open sky and rolling fields. Acres of corn sway across the hills, next to classic barn silhouettes and the forested rise of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.
This is Hollyview Farm, a storied landscape, rich with history and now permanently protected for agriculture.
Protected Forever Through Family Generosity
With development accelerating around them, landowners and sisters Dottie Sykes and Alex Sink chose to donate a conservation easement to Piedmont Land Conservancy, finalized on December 30, 2025. This legal agreement guarantees that these 75 acres of working farmland will never be developed or divided. It will remain a place for food, farming, and connection to North Carolina’s agricultural roots, forever.
A Legacy Connected to the World
Dottie and Alex are descendants of a remarkable lineage. They are the great-granddaughters of Chang Bunker, one half of the famous conjoined “Siamese Twins,” Chang and Eng Bunker, who came from what was then Siam (now Thailand) in the early 1800s.
Touring across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Chang and Eng became globally known figures, whose story has since been portrayed in novels, musicals, and films. They ultimately settled in Mt. Airy where they purchased land, farmed, and raised large families. They were the first Thai people to become naturalized American citizens, becoming cultural bridges between nations long before formal diplomatic relations existed. Today, they remain a source of national pride for many Thai people.
Their lives, while celebrated, also include complex history, such as their ownership of enslaved people, which Thai scholars and the Bunker descendants acknowledge as part of the full and honest legacy. Today, descendants of Chang and Eng host an annual reunion each July, often attended by the Thai Ambassador, recognizing the profound cultural significance rooted in this North Carolina soil.
A Childhood Shaped by the Land
For Dottie and Alex, Hollyview Farm was simply home, until they understood its deeper meaning. They spent their childhood roaming the farm: biking and riding horses around the fields, sledding every hill, running a pretend K&W Cafeteria out of the playhouse, and even assisting with handing tobacco and late-night piglet births in the farrowing house.
Their perspective of the land first shifted when a group from Thailand contacted the family and asked to visit. When they arrived, Alex remembers watching them step onto the land. They were emotional, reverent, and mesmerized. “It was one of the first times I was seeing our home through someone else’s eyes. To stand on this land meant so much to them,” remarked Alex.
Why Protect Farmland Now?
North Carolina is losing farmland at an alarming rate. American Farmland Trust’s Farms Under Threat 2040 report, estimates that North Carolina is projected to lose the second-most agricultural land in the country by 2040, with an estimated 1.1–1.2 million acres of farmland converted to development under current trends, trailing only Texas in total acres lost. Preserving agricultural land is essential to maintain food security, sustain rural economies, and protect the landscapes that define our state.
Hollyview Farm is not only historically significant, it is exceptional farmland. A few years ago, this protected acreage was recognized as some of the highest–yielding corn land in the Yadkin River Valley, producing 300 bushels per acre.
In 1960, the Progressive Farmer Magazine named the Sink family as the “Master Farm Family” for North Carolina. This was a rare honor, and a joint effort between the magazine and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service to recognize families who exemplified high standards in farm operations, home life, and community citizenship. The Bunkers were recognized for their success in farming and their contributions to rural life.
Today, the Johnson family, respected farmers known for their thoughtful practices, leases and stewards the land.
The sisters’ father, Kester Sink, was a lifelong farmer, pioneering erosion control, seed corn production, and early hog farming. According to Dottie and Alex, he was “windshield farming” until age 100, never able to drive by land without checking how the crops were doing.
Their mother, Adelaide Bunker Sink, was equally passionate about the heritage of the farm. Dottie shared, “Our mother was very protective of this land. Even though she passed quite young, she would tell us, ‘Don’t let this go out of the family.’”
A Tribute to Family, and a Gift to North Carolina
By choosing permanent conservation, Alex and Dottie have given a gift that stretches far beyond their family tree. They have ensured that food will grow here long after they are gone, that local farmers will always have fertile ground to work, and that this nationally significant history will remain rooted where it began.
They also hope to honor Chang and Eng Bunker more visibly in the coming years, possibly dedicating part of the remaining acreage outside of the easement to interpretive or commemorative projects.
For now, these 75 acres are forever protected, a decision that reflects deep pride and deep responsibility. As Alex said, “It may seem small, but we’re doing our part. Protecting agricultural land matters, for our state and for our country.”
More about Piedmont Land Conservancy
A Year of Impact
2025 Land Conservation Wrapped
December 2025
As the Piedmont region continues to grow, land conservation remains a grounding force, protecting the natural spaces, farms, forests, and waterways that make this place home. In 2025, Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) marked a major milestone: our 35th anniversary. It was a year to reflect on how far we’ve come and how much more there is to do.
This year alone, with supporters and partners by our side, we conserved about 850 acres of land across our region.
Below are highlights from a year of meaningful progress, for nature, water, farms and the wildlife and people who depend on them.
None of these milestones would be possible without people who care. If you believe nature belongs in all our futures, we hope you’ll consider making a gift to support this work.
Your generosity helps save the next farm, forest, or river waiting to be protected.
Protecting Family Farms
Across Alamance, Caswell, Randolph, and Surry counties, PLC conserved four family farms totaling more than 560 acres. These lands remain in agricultural production, support multigenerational families, and preserve the rural landscapes that define the Piedmont, all at a time when development pressure is at an all-time high.
Read more about Savannah Farm in Alamance County.
Guilford Woods: A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity
In the heart of Greensboro remains a rare natural place, Guilford Woods, one of the city’s last intact forests of its size. This year, PLC launched an $8.5 million campaign to permanently protect it. If conserved, Guilford Woods will become a sanctuary for wildlife and an accessible natural space where people can connect with nature close to home.
Ridges Mountain: A Growing Haven of Biodiversity
Ridges Mountain near Asheboro is already known as a hotspot for rare species, and this year it got even stronger. PLC expanded this preserve twice in 2025, adding 80 acres of rare ecosystem that provides essential upland pools for breeding amphibians. With additional work done by The Conservation Fund and the NC Zoo, the protected area now totals about 500 acres, a major win for biodiversity.
More Wins From Across the Region
Coming Soon: Bashavia Creek Preserve
Near Pfafftown and Winston-Salem, PLC broke ground on trails at the future Bashavia Creek Preserve, while beginning work to restore fields to native grasses. This protected land will one day offer public access, and we’re laying the groundwork now.
Our First Nature Preserve Manager
As we grow our network of nature preserves, PLC took a major step forward. We hired our first Nature Preserve Manager to guide the creation of publicly accessible lands and ensure they remain healthy, safe, and welcoming for generations.
Protecting the Mayo River
PLC conserved 30 acres along the Mayo River and transferred 93 acres to expand Mayo River State Park, ensuring long-term public access and protection of this beloved river corridor.
Safeguarding Endangered Species
Along the Dan River, PLC protected 12 acres of habitat critical to the federally endangered small-anthered bittercress, a plant found in only a few places on Earth.
Bird Habitat Conservation
Near Belews Lake and Knight Brown Nature Preserve, we protected 48 acres of high-quality bird habitat, supporting both migratory and resident species who rely on these forests and fields.
Getting People Outside
Connecting people to nature continues to be a cornerstone of our mission. This year:
846+ people joined PLC for guided hikes and outdoor programs.
We completed the second year of the Northwest Piedmont Master Naturalist Program, graduating 24 new naturalists, many of whom are already giving back as volunteers and conservation leaders.
Looking Ahead
As we move into another year, we do so with both gratitude and resolve. Protecting land is urgent work and also hopeful work. Each acre preserved today shapes a healthier, greener future for us all.
Thank you for being part of PLC’s mission, whether you joined a hike, volunteered, donated, shared a story, or simply found joy in nature this year. Together, we are protecting the Piedmont we love.
We hope you’ll also consider helping fuel this work in the year ahead. Every acre we save shapes the future of the Piedmont.
Thank you for caring about the place we call home.
More about Piedmont Land Conservancy
Protecting What Matters
Safeguarding Clean Water & Recreation at a newly Expanded Elkin Creek Headwaters Preserve
December 2025
On December 19, 2025 Piedmont Land Conservancy officially transferred 150 acres of land to the Town of Elkin to add to the future Elkin Creek Headwaters Preserve, increasing the preserve’s size to 400 acres!
A conservation easement held by PLC ensures protection of the natural features of the property to allow space for wildlife while also allowing trails for public access.
Over the past several years, PLC has conserved key tracts along the Blue Ridge Escarpment stretching from Elkin Creek Headwaters Preserve to Fisher Peak, including the headwaters of the Mitchell River. The Escarpment is one of North Carolina’s most ecologically significant landscapes, with unfragmented forests, headwater streams, and vital wildlife habitat.
This 150 acres was first acquired by Piedmont Land Conservancy in January 2023, with a NC Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant.
Transferring this land to the Town of Elkin helps the town protect its drinking water supply, while the easement ensures it will be permanently protected and managed as a preserve.
Planning for the Future
A new master plan for the preserve, completed by Nature Trails, Inc., in collaboration with Elkin Valley Trails Association (EVTA), the Town of Elkin, and Piedmont Land Conservancy, emphasizes “Conservation through Recreation.” The plan maps out 21 miles of multi-use trails, including sections of the historic Elkin & Alleghany Railroad grade.
The Town of Elkin was recently awarded $377,988 from the Great Trails State Program to begin the first phase of the project. This funding was made possible through advocacy by the Great Trails State Coalition, led by PLC’s Palmer McIntyre. EVTA and the Town continue to pursue additional funding to bring the full vision to life.
A Lasting Partnership
Though not yet open to the public, the preserve is on its way to becoming a remarkable conservation and recreation resource. Creating a preserve of this scale takes time, but each step shows how supporting PLC protects nature, creates trails, and builds healthier communities.