America is losing nearly two million acres of timberlands a year. The U.S. Forest Service expects 44 million acres to be converted to development by 2030. North Carolina is one of a growing number of states buying forest land in an effort to boost their local economies and protect their backyard ecosystems. Hoke County is developing the state's first community forest.
Boy Scouts from Troop 957 in Fayetteville have been hard at work clearing trails on the property. It's one example of how the community is getting involved and taking ownership of the project. Hoke County Attorney William Fields believes it represents part of the county's future. "Opening up this land to people and making it more useable and user friendly will make us known for what makes us unique, which is the sand hills, the pine forest, the lumber river and hopefully that will be a draw for people to come and live here, visit here and to see this as a destination."
For recreation the community forest will provide trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. "There's not a lot of infrastructure you need to provide in order for folks to come out and enjoy the activities they can on this property," said Justin Boner, Conservation Fund Eco-Tourism Programs Coordinator. "It's something upon hearing about it people have really come out of the wood work to help with this project to volunteer and to see this project realized so they can come out and ultimately enjoy it."
Situated on 532 acres the property once belonged to International Paper Company. The Conservation Fund purchased the land for $1.3 million in an effort to come up with a plan that would be good for the economy and the environment.
"The idea behind community forestry is to help people not only to own and manage the land but also to create small business job opportunities that could be directly tied to the land to sustainably harvesting the timber," said Mikki Sager, Conservation Fund Vice President.
Hoke County Resident Steven Connell believes it's an opportunity for the area to showcase some of its resources. "We don't have the metropolitan area the shopping and retail that would attract a lot of folks here but we do have natural resources that we think are varied and attractive. This is an opportunity to show that."
The most economically distressed areas across the country are also home to the richest natural resources--and that is equally true for Hoke County. Nearly 18% of Hoke County residents live in poverty. The agricultural downturn and manufacturing job losses have taken their toll on the local economy. The Conservation Fund believes the community forest has the potential for job creation. Part of the long term development plan is to convert a large portion of the land from loblolly pine to long leaf pine which will also expand habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
"Some of the income that will be generated from this property is going to be thru raking of long leaf pine straw which is a very non invasive procedure that will allow the county to recoup some of the funds they may have gotten from the property taxes for this land," said Justin Boner.
Mikki Sager believes there are a variety of small business possibilities for young people including raising meat goats. "In essence instead of putting millions of money into a shell building or a manufacturing facility they have their own natural manufacturing facility here and it’s going to clean the air it’ll be a great place to keep their community as natural as it can be and people can have good jobs."
Another benefit of the forest is the buffer it will provide for Fort Bragg. The sprawling Army base is just one mile from the town of Raeford. "The military needs a buffer because they do things that are noisy sometimes," said William Fields. "They need a buffer because of the wildlife around the base needs to go off base and travel to other areas and buffers help with that and the military is very concerned about the wildlife."
After losing agriculture and textile based jobs, Steven Connell says Hoke County economic resources are limited, "The forest is here and there are ways to take advantage of that and attract others as well."
While the community forest will not create hundreds of jobs, the Conservation Fund believes it offers promise for the future. "The reality is people think very often that you have to choose that you can either have good jobs or you can have a healthy environment," said Mikki Sager. "When you go back in history people lived off the land and figured out--in their own words--how to make money off the land without messing it up and that really is the idea here."
Eventually the Hoke County Department of Parks and Recreation will manage the property. The Conservation Fund believes the integrated approach to environmental protection and economic development will help alleviate some of the challenges Hoke County is facing. The fund is looking to implement other strategies with its partners on adjacent lands to complement the work of the community forest.
Watch the NC Now Feature
Interview with Mikki Sager