North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation

							Press Release
For Immediate Release – July 14, 2008


For More Information, Call:

Janice L. Allen
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
3301 Trent Road, Suite E
New Bern, NC 28562
252/634-1927

Lisa Schell
North Carolina Clean Water Management
Trust Fund
1101 Oberlin Road
Raleigh, NC 27605
919/716-0057



       North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and State of North Carolina partner
with landowners to conserve over 300 acres along the White Oak River


       The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization,
purchased a landowner agreement on May 29, 2008 on approximately 250 acres of land
along the White Oak River owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Barker with a grant from the
North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). The landowner
agreement, designed to enhance water quality, conserves a beautiful mature hardwood
forest and an expansive estuarine marsh winding along more than two miles of the White
Oak River.
       The Barkers own more than 350 acres of farm and forest land near the Town of
Stella with frontage on both the White Oak River and Hunters Creek in Carteret County.
This land has been in the Barker Family since April 1839 and the Barkers hope to keep it
that way.
       “Much farmland and woodland in coastal North Carolina has been sold for
residential and commercial development. It has always been our desire to maintain our
property along the White Oak River undeveloped and unspoiled. By working with the
Coastal Land Trust, we have insured that two miles of waterfront and all of our woodland
will remain undisturbed for all to enjoy,” said Mr. Harry Barker.
       The Barkers donated a landowner agreement on more than 50 acres of their
property to the Coastal Land Trust back in December 2007 to contribute to the overall
conservation effort. The donated agreement allows them to continue farming and forest
management activities but restricts any residential or commercial development in
perpetuity. The expanded federal tax incentives passed by Congress back in 2006
associated with conservation contributions helped convince the Barkers to make this
donation.
       The expanded tax incentives make it more economically feasible for thousands of
farmers, ranchers, and other landowners of modest means to conserve their land and keep
it in agricultural or timber production. Voluntary landowner agreements, also known as
conservation easements, can protect working farms and forests and make it easier for
families to leave the land for the next generation. The expanded tax incentives, which
originally were approved for agreements donated only in 2006 and 2007, have been
recently reauthorized to continue for two more years. The incentives, which apply to a
landowner’s federal income tax, will:
      Raise the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary landowner
       agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
      Increase the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 6 to 16
       years.

       “With this project, the Coastal Land Trust and the state have conserved a majority
of a stunningly beautiful property which lies adjacent to a section of the Croatan National
Forest,” stated Janice L. Allen, Deputy Director of the Coastal Land Trust. “This project
not only has water quality value but wildlife, scenic, and even military values as it lies
within a strategic military training route for the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
“The Barkers have been a delight to work with and we are pleased that we were able to
assist them in meeting their conservation objectives for their family lands,” added Ms.
Allen.
         “The White Oak River is one of the best-kept secrets in Eastern North Carolina,"
said Richard Rogers, Executive Director of CWMTF. "The Trust Fund is proud to be so
involved in making sure the water quality of this unique resource is improved, preserved
and protected.”
         The North Carolina CWMTF, established in 1996 in response to public concerns
about water quality problems across the state, has invested $41.2 million in 45 water
quality projects in the White Oak River Basin.
         The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust works with private individual and
corporate landowners in North Carolina to conserve special places along our coast, like
the Barker family property, for the future enjoyment of all North Carolinians. Since
1992, the Trust has helped conserve over 40,000 acres of land in 21 coastal counties of
the state. The Coastal Land Trust is based in Wilmington, N.C., and has a local office in
New Bern, which serves the central coastal region of the state. If you would like more
information on North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, or would like to support its land
conservation work, please contact Janice Allen at 252-634-1927 or visit
www.coastallandtrust.org.




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