FCNC adds 211 acres to Buffalo Cove Game Land in Caldwell County

Land Protection Director, Tom Kenney and Conservation and GIS Specialist, Michael Gaffney look at a map on Green Rock Creek property.

MORGANTON, N.C. — On June 26, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina (FCNC) assisted the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) with the acquisition of 211 acres that have been added to the Buffalo Cove Game Land in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Caldwell County. Located between Lenoir and Blowing Rock, this property contains a segment of Green Rock Creek and several springs in the headwaters of the Yadkin River, an important source of drinking water for over 840,000 people in North Carolina.

“Our land trust enjoys strong collaborations with several state and federal natural resource agencies, and it is a great outcome when we can work together to expand public hunting lands with our partners at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission,” stated Andrew Kota, executive director of FCNC. “The land itself is beautiful; it has strong ecological integrity and enhances water quality in Buffalo Creek downstream, a direct tributary of the Yadkin River. This is the second land acquisition in two years that directly impacts the Buffalo Cove Game Land. In February of 2022, FCNC acquired 182 acres along Buffalo Creek and transferred ownership to the NCWRC.

The 15 acres of open fields on this new acquisition can be managed by NCWRC for early successional habitat to enhance wildlife habitat diversity on Buffalo Cove Game Land.  

“This property lies in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin in which Buffalo Creek is a priority watershed in the N.C. Wildlife Action Plan,” stated Tom Kenney, land protection director for FCNC. “The tract’s purchase protects Green Rock Creek and its springs draining to Buffalo Creek, which hosts a rare native mussel, the Brook Floater, and is significantly designated trout waters,” continued Kenney. “The acquisition protects additional good habitat for a range of native wildlife species, as well as plants like the mountain heartleaf on the N.C. Natural Heritage Program's "Watch" list, which is secure on Buffalo Cove Game Land northwest of NC Scenic Byway 268 along the Blue Ridge Mountains and its foothills into Wilkes County.”

This purchase was made possible through direct funding from NCWRC and a grant to FCNC from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, as well as other private philanthropic contributions, including the Bernhardt Furniture Foundation. FCNC is grateful to landowners, Joe Doll and Rachel Plaster, for their high interest and dedication to a conservation sale.  

“We are truly excited about this addition to Buffalo Cove Game Land, because it checks all the boxes,” said Paul Thompson, Northern Mountains Land Management Biologist with the NCWRC. “Not only does it protect habitat for several priority species, but it also provides connectivity to conserved lands, great public access, and the opportunity to manage open bottomland for wildlife, just to name a few.”

This parcel is the latest of several FCNC projects in Caldwell County over the past three years. In 2021, the conservancy protected 118 acres in the county’s Globe area, along the Johns River, and 332 acres with two miles of river frontage along National Wild and Scenic River Wilson Creek. In 2022 and 2023, FCNC permanently protected 181 acres in the Buffalo Cove Game Land, 93 acres along Wilson Creek, 326 acres at the source of the Johns River in Blowing Rock, and 10 acres at the confluence of the Johns River and Thunderhole Creek.  

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is a nationally accredited regional land trust that inspires conservation in Western North Carolina by permanently protecting land and water for the benefit of people and all living things. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Foothills Conservancy has permanently protected over 70,600 acres across eight counties: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Lincoln, McDowell, and Rutherford, and in three major river basins: the Broad, Catawba, and Yadkin. Information about Foothills Conservancy, including ways to support its work, can be found online at www.foothillsconservancy.org or by calling 828-437-9930.

###