COASTLINES Photo by Stuart Borrett
VOLUME 21 // ISSUE 1 // Spring 2021
Croatan National Forest Photo by Stuart Borrett
Saving the Irreplaceable
Your Land Campaign a Spectacular Success By Vann Pearsall, Coastal Land Trust Director of Development
T
hanks to the generosity of its dedicated donors across the country, the Coastal Land Trust has successfully completed the single largest conservation effort ever to protect and restore the North Carolina coastal plain. The Your Land campaign raised more than $35.8 million to strengthen the Coastal Land Trust and make a lasting impact on the conservation of North Carolina’s coast — now and for the future. When the Coastal Land Trust created its strategic plan in 2015, it was the beginning of an exciting, more intentional approach to land conservation. The focus on protecting the Top 40 priority conservation lands in the Coastal Plain would require a more robust investment in conservation to complete these projects and to prepare the organization to protect them in perpetuity. The Your Land campaign focused on protecting the best, most endangered lands that are critical to the health of our coast and the quality of life in eastern NC. Over the past four years more than $31 million was raised for land acquisition allowing the Coastal Land Trust to complete nine priority conservation projects protecting more than 11,700 acres. Each of these places will benefit the public CoastalLandTrust.org
as state game lands in Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, and Gates counties; as the new Salmon Creek State Natural Area in Bertie County; or as additions to Coastal Land Trust’s managed preserves. Two other priority projects are currently under contract and scheduled to close this summer. During the campaign, more than $1.7 million was committed to endowment accounts which allow the Coastal Land Trust to continue managing the lands in its care. Special gratitude goes to Nancy and John Bray who established a new $1 million operational endowment to fund the Director of Stewardship. This is a key position, responsible for maintaining landowner relations and monitoring the current CLT land portfolio. In January 2020, the Board of Directors renamed the Stewardship Endowment to honor the founder’s extraordinary legacy of conservation. During the Your Land campaign, more than $700,000 from private donors has been committed to the Camilla M. Herlevich Legacy Stewardship Fund. This allows the Coastal Land Trust to carry on Camilla’s commitment to preserving, maintaining, and sustaining these irreplaceable lands forever.
Linda Murchison Interim Executive Director
Murchison
Steps UP A
longtime Coastal Land Trust volunteer, current board member and past president of the Board of Directors stepped up in January to head the Coastal Land Trust. Linda S. Murchison has served as Interim Executive Director of the Coastal Land Trust while the board’s Search Committee continued its process of choosing a successor to founding Executive Director Camilla Herlevich. Camilla retired in December after leading the Land Trust for 30 years. “We’re grateful to Linda Murchison for her willingness to step up and serve the Coastal Land Trust on a temporary basis during this time of transition,” said Melanie Allen, president of the Board of Directors. “Linda’s talents and experience make her uniquely qualified to meet our current need, and she has the full confidence of the Board of Directors and staff.” A Minnesota native, Linda graduated cum laude from Murchison, continued on page 2
YOUR LAND, continued on page 5
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