
	Triangle Land Conservancy 1101 Haynes Street Suite 205 Raleigh, NC 27604 919.833.3662

Mark's Creek Priority Area

Wake and Johnston Counties, near Raleigh and Clayton

On the Neuse River and Mark's Creek, only 10 miles from Raleigh, a quiet community slumbers in a seeming time-warp. Historic homes and farms, old barns, pastures and fields, country stores, ponds, wetlands, forests, and rural churches line the roads. Glistening in the sun, Lake Myra, an old mill pond turned 1930s recreation lake, beckons drivers-by to jump in a boat and fish. The 19th century Oaky Grove Methodist Church stands sentinel on the edge of a rolling horse pasture, shaded by a lone oak. But what makes this place even more extraordinary is that so much of its value lies hidden from the roads. The Mark’s Creek watershed includes an undeveloped area of more than 7,500 acres in size; it has the potential to be a huge natural park, larger than Umstead State Park. Time is running out. A number of nearby highway projects promises more growth in this area and a rude awakening back to the 21st century, so much so that Scenic America named Mark’s Creek a Last Chance Landscape in 2003. TLC is catalyzing the protection of Mark’s Creek and the surrounding rural landscape and is convening a host of partners, including state, county, and municipal governments. We are taking this “last chance” to preserve Mark’s Creek before the time-warp ends.

Significance of Mark's Creek

Important historic sites on the National Register of Historic Places
Active farmland and scenic rural vistas
A 7,500-acre undeveloped area in the heart of the watershed, a unique opportunity to create a large park

TLC’s Goals for Mark's Creek

Protect the significant wetlands, natural areas, scenic vistas, farms, and historic sites of the Mark’s Creek watershed
Forge a multi-jurisdictional partnership to protect Mark’s Creek
Advocate for the adoption of the Mark’s Creek conservation assessment

What TLC Has Done

Written a conservation assessment for Mark’s Creek describing its significant features and identifying the most important parcels for protection
Convened two summits for the relevant local governments to build partnership conservation projects

TLC’s Targets

TLC has identified 55 priority tracts for conservation, approximately 6,300 acres, plus 63 long-term priority tracts, another 3,300 acres
TLC is actively working to protect 1,685 acres in the area, including:

Mark's Creek, Phase 1 – Three properties along Mark’s Creek totaling 350 acres, some of the most important wetlands in the watershed
Walnut Hill – Phased conservation easement to protect this large historic farm