New River Smallmouth Bass

Several weeks ago I went on a delightful fishing trip on the New River just outside of Sparta. Jack Jezorek was our very knowledge host and Alex Ashton and I were the lucky guests. We barely found the time to discuss our land preservation work with the Guilford County Open Space Committee. Even though I have done a lot of lake, river, sound and backcountry fishing I had never wet a hook in the New River. I came away amazed at the very healthy population of smallmouth bass who cruse along the shady banks and stay tucked away under the many rock shelves waiting for food to float by in the mostly gentle current.

The water had just a little turbidity to keep the bass from being skittish. From either the canoe that held two of us or the kayak the water flow seemed to be perfect for our ten mile float trip on a sunny day without high humidity and with a gentle breeze.

Having spent most of my fishing time on a stable Florida Key’s flats boat or a bass boat this fishing from canoe, and later the kayak, initially felt a little unsteady but the river became a wonderful, embracing companion that pushed many smallmouth bass towards my four inch plastic worm. The canoe and kayak became stable with a little patience and practice.

The banks were alive the entire way with kingfishers, blackbirds, tons of magnificent song birds, duck, geese and at times grazing cattle. A few McMansions seized a high overview and one large development along the river looked like it had recently collided with the falling real estate market but for the most part that ancient river remains in the arms of pastoral landscape and forest.

At the end of the ten miles I had lucked upon around thirty-six bass who were all released back into the waters of the New River a few in the 16” and 17” category. I have at times beaten those numbers but I seldom enjoyed a fishing trip more. I’ll be back on that lovely water again.

Classic Guilford County Dairy Farm Has Been Saved

Wonderful news that the Gerringer Dairy Farm has been saved from development pressures and that the new conservation easement arranged through the Piedmont Land Conservancy, federal and state farm trust funds will provide money for the farm to remain an active dairy farm into future generations.

The Gerringer project was initiated by the Guilford County Open Space Committee; however, the use of conservation easements for several reasons was not sufficiently supported by the County Commissioners. Conservation easements are a very important tool for land preservation. Basically the Gerringer's are receiving almost 50% of the appraised value of their land because they are agreeing to never develop their property. They will be paid on the front end for the value of their development rights. Such a program is important to help family farms obtain some of their land value without selling their land to developers.

Linville Gorge Trip

Looking at the 540-million year-old quartzite rock that lies beneath the 745-million-year-old metamorphosed granite rock at the walls of the gorge is an amazing view provided by the unique geological window that is Linville Gorge.

Thanks to a fine new book Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas we have a geology field guide for our state. No doubt it is a treat to view the rocks of Linville Gorge and understand that the supercontinent of "Gondwana (which was made of parts of Africa and South America) collided with Laurentia" (North America) and that collision around 300 million years ago helped to form Linville Gorge.

More about some ancient rocks later but above is a wildflower photo of Blazing Star also called Devil's Bit. The gorge was loaded with Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron in full bloom.

Growing Interest In Land Preservation

I continue to be amazed at the quality and beauty of properties that have been recommended for preservation to the Guilford County Open Space Committee. Community interest is definitely growing and we are receiving more calls than ever from interested property owners. In many instances these property owners are so eager to preserve their tracts that they are offering them significantly below the appraised value. One recent owner is considering simply gifting their beautiful tract to Guilford County. Direct tax credits from the State of N.C. can provide some important benefits for below market value transactions and for land gifts to the county or state.

It is very impressive to work with property owners with land that has been in their family for several generations. Their commitment to permanently preserve their land becomes more important for them than receiving top dollar from a developer.

We have had two property walks this week that were simply stunning. One near Deep River in South West Guilford County and the other was off of Yanceyville Rd. that backs up to Lake Townsend. It seems like gradually the word is getting out about the work of the Open Space Committee and its very ambitious goal to protect 100 acres of park and open space per 1,000 residents of Guilford County.

In the last inventory of protected land in Guilford County we sadly found “that (only) 4.69% of the total land within Guilford County is currently protected by some form of government ownership or conservation easement. In other words, of the 417,308 total acres of land in Guilford County, 19,565 acres (including 5,308 of surface water) are currently protected."

We are perhaps in our last decade to still have access to important tracts for preservation. Our work over the next ten years is crucial. The $10million Open Space Bond approved in 2004 is the core of our funds for land preservation but we have been able to tag team with state funds and clean water trust funds to help that money go much farther. No doubt another bond will be needed for additional land preservation in several more years.

Indeed This Land is Magical !

Taft Wireback's N&R article today broke the important story of the Richardson/Morton/Mountains-to-Sea Trail developing project just off of Plainfield Rd. and north of the Lake Towsend Watershed.

This developing project created by the Guilford County Open Space Committee could protect and preserve between 300 to 500 acres of beautiful land. Much like the Haw River State Park Project that was initially conceived by the Guilford County Open Space Committee this project should be significantly funded by the state because this land can be part of the state’s Mountains-to Sea Trail.

The Guilford County part of this possible $5 million project could turn out to be less than $2 million. That $2 million, if approved by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, would come from already set aside Open Space Bonds that were approved by voters in 2004. The other key to this project is that as much as $1 million from those bond funds could be reimbursed to Guilford County from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund since this purchase would significantly protect the water quality of Lake Townsend.

Also in the early stages it appears that the two key property owners the Morton’s and Richardson’s may be willing to sell their land below the appraised value to make this entire project very attractive for everyone involved.

Like the Haw River State Park it is almost too good to be true! But it is all heading in the right direction with many loose ends coming together.

It will take broad community support and the approval of the Guilford County Parks & Rec. Commission and the Guilford County Commissioners to make this project become a reality.

And by the way while a lot of energy is centered on the northern area of the county the Open Space Committee is actively pursuing other open space projects in the southern parts of Guilford County including properties near Deep River.

Beautiful Open Space Still Exists in Guilford County

I am a fairly new member of the Guilford County Open Space Committee .

Above are two photos I took yesterday of the Baynes tract, off of Haw River Rd., that is a real gem. It contains a wonderful stream, tumbling water down steep rock formations, high bluffs and great wildlife and wild flowers.

The open space program was proposed by Jack Jezorek, Maxine Dalton, Bill Ross and several other folks in 1999. The Guilford County Board of Commissioners created the Open Space Committee in July of 2000 to act in an oversight role for acquiring open space in Guilford County. In 2004 voters in Guilford County approved a bond fund of $10 million to preserve open space.

Open Space is defined by the committee as "land in a predominantly undeveloped condition, including forests, wetlands, stream corridors, managed meadows and agricultural areas."

Some benefits of Open Space:
Protects water quality
Recharges ground and surface water
Improves air quality
Preserves plant and animal habitats
Offers low-impact recreation (hiking, birding,etc.)
Connects people with nature

The biggest success of the Guilford County Open Space Committee is the Haw River State Park. The Open Space Committee conceived the idea of a state park in Guilford County; officially nominated the Haw River corridor in 2001; and worked with the Guilford delegation to the General Assembly to pass House Bill 1025 for the park in 2003. Significant additional land is still being added to this developing park.

Several wonderful properties (including the Baynes tract above) have been purchased for open space in Guilford County with the selection and recommendation of the Open Space Committee, then with approval of the Guilford County Parks and Recreation Commission and with the final approval of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.

Information should be available soon on the new, wonderful proposed Morton/Richardson project off of Plainfield Rd. If approved the state funded Mountains-to-Sea Trail should connect through this area and eventually allow hiking from downtown Greensboro to the Haw River State Park.

Swallowtail Butterflies

I took these pictures of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail males on a hike last week. They were having a puddle party and extracting nutrients from the moist, muddy edge of Lake Townsend. They had just emerged and their color was brilliant.