Our Goals for 2024

Dear friend,

I hope that your holidays have been joyful and you are entering the new year with a hopeful heart. For myself, I feel inspired looking back on the incredible conservation work that you made possible in the last year.

Did you see our top 10 list for 2023? It was truly an impressive year for conservation. And we hope to keep this momentum going into 2024. Nature needs us now more than ever, so I want to ask if you can make a gift today, before the end of 2023.

We see so much possibility in the coming year, if we can count on your support. We have some extraordinary opportunities for conservation. These goals are big but I believe they are all possible, with your support.

• Expand a vast protected area in the mountains near Lake Lure where we can build new sections of the 100+ mile Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail. We hope to protect another 400 acres in 2024, completing our goal of more than 2,650 protected acres!
• Protect more land around our extraordinary nature preserves along the North Pacolet River. We have the opportunity to protect 192 acres with beautiful wildflowers and exceptional biodiversity near Melrose Falls and Norman Wilder Forest, if we act early in the new year.
• Add to a growing chain of restoration projects along the French Broad River. There is potential to move forward on eight more restorations in 2024. As these projects add up, you are transforming the river—revitalizing wildlife habitat, enhancing recreation, providing cleaner water, and reducing flood risk.
• Protect more farmland. Our communities have been clear that farmland preservation is a priority. And we’ve seen unprecedented interest from farmers who want to protect their land. The momentum for farmland preservation is there, if we can seize this moment.
• Advance the Saluda Grade Trail. In 2023, we received a wealth of public input on this 31-mile rail trail. We also got $12 million in state funding toward purchasing the NC section. Our next steps are to develop a vision for the trail that supports local goals and to raise the rest of the money we need to buy the corridor. Right now, the railroad is open to selling the line, so this is our chance.

These are only a few of the opportunities that we see to protect our land and water, restore natural areas, and engage people with nature. There is so much more that we hope to accomplish in the coming year. Will you make a gift to make it possible?

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

P.S. Your donation to Conserving Carolina is tax-deductible. If you have questions about making sure your gift counts as a 2023 contribution, here is some helpful information. Happy New Year!