Land We Protect
Protecting the Places You Love
TLC works across Chatham, Orange, Lee, Durham, Wake and Johnston counties to protect more than 26,000 acres of wild and working lands. As our community grows, your support enables us to continue protecting these spaces before they are gone forever.
Conservation Tools & Strategies
From direct land ownership to collaborative partnerships, Triangle Land Conservancy uses a variety of proven methods to permanently protect the Triangle's most important natural areas.
Land acquisition
One way TLC protects land is by acquiring it directly. TLC currently holds more than 8,000 acres in the Triangle, including seven public nature preserves and three private preserves, including Irvin Farm and Temple Flat Rock. TLC staff maintain these lands by managing invasive species, doing trail maintenance, and restoring habitats to attract wildlife.
Conservation Easements
Conservation easements are TLC’s most powerful and flexible tool for protecting private land. These voluntary, binding legal agreements between TLC and landowners permanently protect natural resources, including farms and forests, by limiting development.
Landowners can donate or sell easements, often funded through a mix of federal, state, and local sources. Easements reduce the land’s value by removing development rights—lowering property taxes and making the land more affordable for future buyers.
From direct land ownership to collaborative partnerships, Triangle Land Conservancy uses a variety of proven methods to permanently protect the Triangle’s most important natural areas.
Partnership Projects
In some cases, TLC acquires land and transfers it to another entity for long-term management. These transfers help ensure permanent protection while enabling public access, restoration, or other community benefits, all while upholding the land’s conservation purpose through tools like conservation easements or deed restrictions. Many of them are open to the public for hiking, biking, and other outdoor recreation.
Project Spotlight
Walton Farm, one of Raleigh’s last large working farms, is now permanently protected through a conservation easement thanks to a partnership between the landowners, Triangle Land Conservancy, and Wake County.
This vital project preserves valuable farmland, open space, and wildlife habitat in a rapidly growing area. With generous landowner support and county funding, Walton Farm will remain a treasured part of the community for generations to come.
