Land preservation

Talk of the Towns: Iredell County

This installment of our series of planner interviews heads to Iredell County, where Matthew Todd describes efforts of industrial recruitment, rural farmland preservation and the challenges of planning in a diverse county that includes suburban Charlotte to the south and rural foothills to the north.

High court rail-trails decision won't affect N.C.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has trail advocates worried about the fate of the national rails-to-trails program, but the ruling is unlikely to affect North Carolina. (Photo: Nancy Pierce)

A 'peak' of reflection

Less than two weeks after an inspiring visit to Yosemite, I was back at Crowders Mountain State Park on the Kings Pinnacle Trail. I am grateful to have such a destination so near home, and from the top I often reflect on the rich history of the peaks and the Piedmont below. (Photo: Steve Copulsky)

State tax credit ending, land trusts see flurry of preservation efforts

As the Dec. 31 end of a 30-year-old N.C. land preservation tax credit nears, regional land trusts scurry to finish preservation projects from donors hoping to use the credit before they lose it. (Photo: Catawba Lands Conservancy)

Flood-prone site of former temple, school now awaits storm waters

At a prominent site on Charlotte's busy Providence Road, a one-time synagogue, then school, has been demolished as part of Mecklenburg County's ongoing effort to control flooding and help water quality. (Photo: Mary Newsom)

After decades, Reid Park may get its park

After nearly three decades of hoping for a new park, the Reid Park neighborhood in west Charlotte may be on its way to getting one designed, not by the county, but a student. (Image: Dylan McKnight)

Untangling urban growth boundaries

Are urban growth boundaries effective tools for curbing sprawl, or an infringement of property rights?

Mecklenburg’s 2012 green space assessment: Fair to middling

Mecklenburg County is not on track to meet its 2008 goals for acquiring nature preserves and open space, and the trend is continuing downward, according to the 2012 State of the Environment Report. Greenways and parks are rated just “fair.”

Remembering Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’

Sept. 27 marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, widely recognized as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. The golden anniversary is a good time to reflect, again, on its remarkable author.

How’s the water? Maybe not so fine

Most water quality indicators in Mecklenburg County are “good,” but its streams are not as clean as they should be, says the county’s latest State of the Environment Report. Three of four water quality indicators are rated “good,” while “streams,” is rated only “fair.”