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White Pines Nature Preserve

Part of the NC Birding Trail. Hiking trails--beautiful views of the forest and the rivers

  • Address: Pittsboro, NC 27312
  • Mailing Address: Pittsboro, NC 27312

TLC's flagship property is the first purchased and the most biologically significant. Home of a federally endangered fish and plant species. Located at the confluence of the Deep and Rocky rivers, White Pines is a great place to hike. The preserve supports several stands of white pines, a tree that is normally found in the cooler mountain region of North Carolina. Many other mountain plants and wildflowers including Catawba rhododendron grow at White Pines, too. The hiking trails offer beautiful views of the forest and the rivers. The Gilbert Yager Trail explores the southern portion of the preserve, meandering through several distinct forest types: dry oak-hickory forest on the ridge, Piedmont bottomland forest in the Deep River floodplain, and several stands of native white pines. Part of the NC Birding Trail.

TLC conserves tract for clean water: TLC secured a conservation easement in March 2011, protecting clean water flowing into the Deep River.

The 85-acre Williams tract lies in Chatham County, just south of Pittsboro, and is less than a mile from TLC’s White Pines Nature Preserve. The Williams tract is not river front property, but it does contain the headwaters of several tributaries flowing to the Deep River. In 2007, TLC moved quickly to purchase the property using the Pearson Stewart Land Opportunity Fund. The Williams tract is an important addition to the White Pines Preserve, expanding the protection of this nationally significant nature preserve to 374 acres of important forestland and wildlife habitat. In 2010, TLC was awarded $268,000 from the CWMTF to place a conservation easement on the water quality buffers surrounding the headwater tributaries. The funds were placed back into the Pearson Stewart Land Opportunity Fund and are available for future land acquisitions. This property is not open to the public at this time.

 

Amenities

Directions: http://www.triangleland.org/lands/tlc/white_pines_np_access.shtml

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