Nearly 700 acres in Carteret added to conservatory 

ARTERET COUNTY – Nearly 700 acres of waterfront property in Carteret County has been added to the number of conservation lands helping to protect areas near military training from incompatible development while also preserving the natural habitat.

The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust announced last week that property at Luken’s Island has been protected through its latest project partnering with the State of North Carolina, the Marine Corps and the Navy.

“We are proud to have completed another acquisition of development rights at Luken’s Island,” Coastal Land Trust Deputy Director Janice Allen said. “We have completed 15 such dual military/conservation projects since 2006, protecting more than 7,500 acres of valuable wildlife habitat and preserving water quality while helping our local military bases.”

Luken’s Island is located in the northeastern part of Carteret County. Its peninsula is located across Turnagain Bay from the MCAS Cherry Point Piney Island Bombing Range near the Neuse River.

Coastal Land Trust closed on a similar agreement last year that preserves farmland owned by the Guthrie family in western Carteret County and protects it from development that could encroach on the use of nearby Marine Corps auxiliary landing field at Bogue.

The Luken’s Island conservation helps protect against development that would be incompatible with the Piney Island range used by Cherry Point. The property is not only near the range but within the flight path of military aircraft.

“It’s not just the flight path but the proximity,” Allen said.

The 678-acre property includes pine and hardwood forests that slope into estuarine waters along the banks of Brown’s Creek, a relatively pristine tidal creek, according to Coastal Land Trust information.

The land is primarily used by owners for timber management and recreation such as hunting.

While currently undeveloped and inaccessible by road, Allen said that could have changed without conservation protection.

“I think that with the amount of waterfront the property has it’s very attractive,” Allen said. “So, just like Bald Head Island or other places once considered remote, that can change.”

Aside from residential development, construction of tall structures such as cell towers or wind turbines can interfere in the flight paths of military aircraft training in the area.

While none were being proposed for Luken’s Island, Allen said wind energy and the location of windmills has become more of an issue in recent years.

In some cases, she said, tall structures can interfere in flight paths of military training and also affect radar.

Fortunately, she said, the owners’ current uses of the Luken’s Island property has “meshed” with the goals of the Coastal Land Trust.

Through the conservation agreement, Coastal Land Trust has acquired the development rights to the property. The owners can continue to hunt the land and continue current uses, but the property can never be used for development such as residential subdivisions or industrial-type purposes.

Camilla Herlevich, executive director of North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, said they have been working with the Luken’s Island LLC for about six years, and the latest project is the third and largest with them.

The other two projects were in the same area and involved 375 acres and 136 acres, respectively.

Funds for the latest projects came from grants from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative.

The land is also adjacent to state and federal conservation areas: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s state game lands property that is open to the public.