September 3, 2008
Dear TLC Members
and Friends,
Thanks for reading TLC's E-News! If you know someone who would enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to them.
1. Going...going...GONE! Last call for Burrito Bash tickets
2. 2008 Farm Bill extends landowner tax incentives
3. Conquer an alien invader at Swift Creek Bluffs this Sunday, Sept. 7
4. Discover the diverse habitats of Swift Creek Bluffs, Saturday, Sept. 13
5. September Member of the Month - Paula Godwin Cothren
6. New boat launch at McIver Landing makes for smooth sailing – er, paddling
7. TLC: Your travel agent for Backyard Adventures
8. Clean Water Management Trust Fund awards $5.38 million to TLC projects
9. Hot off the press - it's TLC News!
10. Nature Quiz
1. Going...going...GONE! Last call for Burrito Bash tickets
Tickets are still available for the Burrito Bash! TLC is teaming up with Haw River Assembly on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at the General Store Cafe (39 West St, Pittsboro) for music, dancing, a silent auction, and of course, burritos! If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please contact Marisa Bryant at mbryant@tlc-nc.org or 919-833-3662 ext. 111. For tickets and to view the list of auction items, click here.
2. 2008 Farm Bill extends landowner tax incentives
The 2008 Farm Bill expanded the federal income tax benefits available to landowners who donate conservation easements. These benefits will expire at the end of 2009 unless Congress takes action to extend them. Find out more about federal and North Carolina state tax benefits online.
3. Conquer an alien invader at Swift Creek Bluffs this Sunday, Sept. 7
Do you want to learn more about strategies to control a highly aggressive invasive plant and help TLC? Here's your chance! Mike Shafale, an ecologist and plant expert with the NC Natural Heritage Program, will lead a workday focused on the manual removal of the invasive species Microstegium (Japanese Stilt Grass) from areas in the Swift Creek Bluffs Preserve. Participants will learn about invasive plant control while helping TLC maintain the biological integrity of the Preserve--so grab your water bottle and sunscreen and head out to Swift Creek Bluffs on Sunday! Details
4.
Discover the diverse habitats of Swift Creek Bluffs, Saturday, Sept. 13Join TLC and botanists from NC State University for two explorations of Swift Creek Bluffs, TLC’s Wake County nature preserve.
“To me the thing that really is special about Swift Creek Bluffs is that in one small, 23-acre package you have a diversity of natural habitats ranging from floodplains to very rich mesic bluffs to more typical uplands," says Tom Wentworth, professor of plant ecology at NC State University, who uses Swift Creek Bluffs as a learning lab for his classes every year. "I can go to Swift Creek Bluffs and show you the entire sequence of these natural systems and natural communities in the course of a one- or two-hour hike.”
And that’s just what Tom and one of his graduate assistants will do when they lead two nature walks through the preserve. Details and registration.
5. September Member of the Month – Paula Godwin Cothren
Upon deciding to pursue a graduate degree at NCSU, TLC member and volunteer Paula Cothren knew that volunteer work would strengthen her academic experience.
“I chose to volunteer at TLC because it remains local and focused,” she states.
Read more about Paula on our Member Spotlight page.
6. New boat launch at McIver Landing makes for smooth sailing – er, paddling
TLC Land Manager Walt Tysinger and his team of interns built a new canoe ramp at McIver Landing this summer. A hand crank to raise and lower canoes and kayaks up and down the ramp will eventually be added, making McIver Landing a great way to access the Deep River State Trail.
7. TLC: Your travel agent for Backyard Adventures
With the high price of gas, many people are looking for vacations close to home. TLC understands, and we are here to help as your local travel agent of sorts. Every month for the next year, we will announce a new itinerary for a Backyard Adventure.
We are pleased to offer "Milling About in Orange County" as our inaugural adventure. In conjunction with Take a Child Outside Week (September 24-30), we offer this adventure: Take your favorite kid(s) to TLC's Johnston Mill Nature Preserve for a hike, spin over to nearby Allen & Son Bar-B-Que for lunch, then top off the day with a dee-licious ice cream cone at the Maple View Farm Country Store. Or start with ice cream and hike off the sugar rush at Johnston Mill. Your choice. We will even provide one lucky reader, the winner of the Nature Quiz, with a prize package including a gift certificate donated by Maple View. So go ahead, have your own backyard adventure! Find the full itinerary online.
8. Clean Water Management Trust Fund awards $5.38 million to TLC projects
Six Triangle Land Conservancy projects were awarded a total of $5.38 million by the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board on August 11. The six conservation projects are spread around four Triangle region counties, with one each in Chatham and Durham and two each in Orange and Wake. In all, the six TLC projects will conserve a total of 1,100 acres with a total appraised valued of approximately $21 million. Read more online.
9. Hot off the press - it's TLC News!
The latest edition of TLC News just rolled off the press and will be landing in mailboxes throughout the region soon. But, if you just can’t wait, you can also read it online.
10. Nature Quiz
After an extended summer vacation, the TLC Nature Quiz has returned, rested and full of anecdotes from its travels. So, let's put it right back to work! This month's quiz is a limerick, so all you have to do is figure out the missing last word, which rhymes with the last word in the first and second lines. (Note - this is a two-word answer, but only the second word rhymes as described above.) We will draw a winner from all the correct answers we receive at enews@tlc-nc.org by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 5. The winner will receive a prize package for our inaugural Backyard Adventure, complete with a gift certificate provided by Maple View Ice Cream -- and we'll even throw in a coveted TLC hat! Good luck!
Thrill and adventure I seek,
Excitement to end the week.
Birds, beasts, and trees abound
And elation I’ve found
Hiking the bluffs of _______ _______.
Jennifer Peterson
Communications Coordinator
(919)833-3662 ext. 108
Not a TLC Member? Click here to join!
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