The Coastal Land Trust has purchased 421.38 acres in Bertie County in a transaction that has been in work since 2019 and will continue land preservation efforts along the region’s waterways.
Deemed the “Chowan/Perry et al. Tracts”, the closing involved the purchase of five adjoining parcels along the Chowan River having six sets of owners.
The Chowan/Perry et al. Tracts have more than 1.7 miles of frontage along the Chowan River. The property consists primarily of mature cypress gum swamp and adjoins a 451-acre parcel owned by the State of North Carolina and managed by the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission as part of the 32,570-acre Chowan Swamp Game Lands.
Additionally, the property lies within the Colerain/Cow Island Swamp and Slopes Significant Natural Heritage Area and is classified as having high ecological significance.
The purchase was funded by a North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant, a Coastal Wetlands grant, and an Enviva Forest Conservation Fund grant.
This property, together with the 766.48-acre Keel Creek Tract which the Coastal Land Trust purchased in December 2021, has been transferred to the State of North Carolina to be managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as part of the Chowan Swamp Game Lands – an almost 1,200-acre addition to the State Game Lands.