Since 1990
Protected Places
PLC has protected more than 250 places across our region.
North Carolina’s Piedmont is a special place, with its scenic landscape of rolling hills, abundant rivers and streams, productive farms, diverse forests, historic communities, and a myriad of state and local parks and trails showcasing some of our region’s most iconic natural places.
Our projects generally fall into four areas: clean water, family farms, public access, and natural areas. Learn about all our projects in the categories below.
Clean Water
PLC works across our region to protect rivers and streams so we can have clean drinking water and beautiful places for swimming, canoeing and fishing. Rivers and streams flow throughout North Carolina, with every backyard or backwoods stream flowing into one of our major rivers. In the Piedmont, there are several major rivers:
- The Yadkin River, which flows from the mountains down through central North Carolina and into the Pee Dee River in South Carolina, and includes the Mitchell River and Fisher River as major tributaries;
- The Dan River, which flows from Virginia into North Carolina and back into Virginia into the Roanoke River, and includes the Mayo River as a major tributary;
- The Haw River and Deep River, both part of the Cape Fear watershed, which is one of the only watersheds to originate and flow only in North Carolina.
PLC works across our region to protect rivers and streams so we can have clean drinking water and beautiful places for swimming, canoeing and fishing. Here we highlight a few of our major river projects.
Learn More about PLC's Water Quality Projects
Family Farms
Farming has defined with way of life for generations of Piedmont families, thanks to rich soils, plentiful water, favorable climate and gentle topography. As one of North Carolina’s top industries, agriculture is an important part of the state’s economy. Local farms provide our families with fresh food, produce important commodity crops, provide opportunities for recreation and habitat for wildlife, and contribute to the scenic value of our region.
Since early on, Piedmont Land Conservancy has been very active in protecting farms across our region. PLC’s preferred approach is to protect farms that are located near each other in farming communities, to increase the impact of conservation. PLC has two community-based farmland protection efforts – the Sutphin Mill Community in Alamance and Chatham Counties, and the Liberty-Randleman Corridor in Randolph County. PLC protects farms in all of our counties, particularly in our rural counties.
Learn More about PLC's Family Farm Projects
Natural Areas
Natural areas and well-managed forests support healthy ecosystems by providing habitat for native plants and animals. PLC protects many properties throughout our region that preserve these habitats. Many of these properties have been identified through Natural Heritage Inventories which identify and rank natural areas in each county. PLC’s goal is to protect the best of our natural areas all across our region working with interested landowners.
Learn More about PLC's Protected Natural Areas
Parks, Trails, and Preserves
One of PLC’s priorities is to protect places that can help connect people to nature, balancing our increasingly indoor, urban lives with the benefits and fun of being outside for all ages. Benefitting health through outdoor recreation – fishing, hiking, birding, canoeing/kayaking, and quiet enjoyment, access to open space and natural areas is critical for our region’s future, and PLC plays an important role in making these types of places available.