MIDDLESEX, NC (October 6, 2025)— Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) is proud to announce the permanent…
At the end of July, Triangle Land Conservancy purchased 602 additional acres along the Neuse River in Johnston County, bringing the total protected acres in this region to more than 1,400 just since June.
The property, purchased from the Massengill family, comprises two tracts that lie within the Neuse River Lowgrounds, an area identified by TLC in the late 1990s as one of the region’s highest conservation priorities. The property includes more than two miles of frontage along the Neuse River as well as shoreline on two oxbow lakes. The property has notable stands of bald cypress remaining along the oxbows and protects more than 400 acres of wetlands. Approximately 500 acres fall within the exceptionally ranked Neuse River Lowgrounds Natural Heritage Natural Area.
"This property has been a TLC conservation priority for many years,” said Sandy Sweitzer, Executive Director of TLC. “We are delighted to finally complete this purchase and are grateful for our funding partners and a generous landowner donation that made it possible."
Also in the Lowgrounds are two recent TLC properties: Rose Dairy Farm, 308 acres which TLC purchased in 2024 and transferred to Johnston County in May for an eventual county-run nature preserve, and the Neuse Islands Wilderness, more than 800 acres of mature bottomland hardwood forest that TLC purchased in June.
The tracts, colloquially called the Gar Gut Mashes after the stream that flows through them, support white-tailed deer, wild turkey, black bear, reptiles, amphibians, and a wide variety of bird species. This stretch of the Neuse River has been recognized as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society and provides habitat for great blue herons, anhingas, and double-crested cormorants. The area is also known to support the Swainson's warbler and the Mississippi kite, which is designated as Significantly Rare by the state.
Beyond its wildlife value, the property's extensive floodplain plays an important role in filtering water flowing downstream from the rapidly growing Triangle region and in reducing flood impacts for downstream communities.
"Thanks to Triangle Land Conservancy and the careful stewardship of the Massengill family through many generations, this wonderful natural area in Johnston County will now be preserved,” the Massengill family said in a statement. “So many family members have enjoyed fishing, hunting, and hiking on the banks of the Neuse River while making memories that will last a lifetime. We know that our parents and grandparents would be very pleased to know that this very special place is forever protected."
Funding for the project came from the N.C. General Assembly via the N.C. Land and Water Fund, Johnston County, and a landowner donation.
The acquisition will expand one of the area’s largest connected conservation landscapes. The Gar Gut Mashes are located near Howell Woods and the 1,120-acre Brogden Bottomlands property previously protected by TLC and transferred to North Carolina State Parks. Although not yet open to the public, the property also lies along the planned Mountains-to-Sea Trail footpath and directly borders the Mountains-to-Sea Trail blueway paddle route on the Neuse River, creating future opportunities for regional connectivity and outdoor recreation.
In the last five years, TLC has completed more than 50 land protection projects in Johnston County with the support of the County, the State of North Carolina, and TLC donors.
