The Umstead Coalition, PO Box 10654, Raleigh, NC 27605, (919) 852-2268
The Sierra Club, Capital Chapter, PO Box 668, Raleigh, NC 27628, (919) 833-8467
The Sierra Club, North Carolina Chapter, 112 S. Blount Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
The Neuse River Foundation, 112 S. Blount Street, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 856-1180
Environmental Defense Fund, 2500 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 330, Raleigh, NC 27607


The Honorable Governor James B. Hunt Jr.
20301 MCS
Raleigh, NC
27699-0301


May 18, 2000

Governor Hunt:

It's hard not to notice the irony of NCSU's planned sale of 159 acres of land near the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena. This land hosts the last undisturbed tributary of Richland creek; preservation of the remaining branch of this creek represents a real conservation opportunity. Meanwhile, you have spent the past several months evangelizing for the protection of more open space in our state. Your Million Acre Initiative calls for "protecting the streams…sensitive natural areas and wildlife habitat" of North Carolina, in part by tapping "the stewardship ethic of many landholders in North Carolina" and by persuading landholders of sensitive lands to donate permanent conservation easements to local governments or non-profit land trusts. Shouldn't state institutions lead the way in this stewardship and set an example for the rest of us?

NCSU is trying to hoodwink the public into accepting a sale of the PUBLIC's lands without public input by calling this a land swap, 159 acres for 1300 acres. Sounds great, everyone loves something for nothing. Consider what we are swapping - mature, forested lands in the heart of the triangle, land crucial for water quality and a wildlife and recreation corridor, in exchange for about 280 mostly farmland acres also in the Triangle, plus "significant" other parcels, not in the Triangle.

The Conservation Plan for the Richland Creek Corridor, Published in 1997 by the Triangle Land Conservancy and endorsed by a steering committee that included representatives from NCSU's Forestry and Real Estate Departments recommends:
"The forested land along the western branch of Richland Creek, south of Wade Avenue, should be protected from logging and sedimentation because of the high diversity of plants and prime amphibian habitat." (p. 53).

Parts of the parcel are steep, wet and heavily forested, with mature and diverse plant and bird communities. These areas are difficult and expensive to develop without destroying the ecosystem that naturally preserves the health and beauty of the creek. They are therefore prime areas for perpetual protection.

But currently NCSU is showing no regard for the fate of this pubic land they are selling. NCSU is not attaching any conservation restrictions or easements around the creek as part of the sale of this land. NCSU, a land grant university, is sending the signal that water quality protection (the water that flows into it's own Schenck Forest, then into Richland lake and Umstead State park and on to the Neuse river) is not important and that they have no public stewardship obligation for the lands they own. NCSU seems to be looking instead to the highest bidder to set aside easements and hopefully protect our natural resources.

We've seen this before in West Raleigh. Witness how NCSU stood by with indifference and watched as formerly pristine Richland Creek adjacent to the arena had its waterway crossed and channelized and had its floodplain filled with muddy runoff from negligent construction. Is this the fate of the other branch of Richland creek?

Let's hope not. Governor Hunt, we call on you to show the same commitment to the environment and the quality of life in the triangle as you have in stopping the Duraleigh Connector. Please:
· Work with the Council of State to halt this sale in its current mode. Consider the significant biodiversity of this land and its role in water quality protection and as a wildlife and recreation corridor before it has left the control of the State.
· Implore NCSU, the current owner and steward of the land, to include protection of the sensitive areas of the land as a condition of the sale.
· Urge NCSU and DENR to work together to inventory NCSU's other agricultural lands for sensitive areas before they come under similar pressure for sale.

This is a golden opportunity for the state of North Carolina to show real land stewardship, let's consider meaningful protection for this PUBLIC resource before it's too late.


Respectfully,

Charles Bachmann and Richard Tibbs, Richland Creek Streamwatch Committee, The Umstead Coalition
Victor D'Amato,Conservation Co-Chair, North Carolina Chapter Sierra Club
Michael Andrews, Conservation Chair, Capital Group Sierra Club
Heather Beard, Director of Upper Neuse River Basin Operations, Neuse River Foundation
Joe Rudek, Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund NC
Frank McKay, Environmental Educational Chair, The Umstead Coalition


Cc:
Dr. Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor, NCSU Chancellor's Office
Mr. George Worsley, Vice Chancellor, NCSU Office of Finance and Business
Mr. Bill Holman, Secretary, NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC

rev. 5/23/00