6.2 Planning and Implementing Conservation
through donations directly to the fund (including memorial contributions) or through a bequest from a will or living trust. Tis is a new fund designed to allow contributions toward programs beneftting nongame species. As of mid-2013, the fund had received less than $5,000 in contributions. • NC Wildlife Endowment Fund—An investment and conservation program funded by fees paid for lifetime licenses and specifed contributions. Contributions are tax deduct- ible and can be made through donations directly to the fund (including memorial contributions) or through a bequest from a will or living trust. As of June 2013, the fund had a cash balance of nearly $99 million. Te fund has been able to transfer more than $51 million to the operations of the Wildlife Resources Commission to assist in carrying out its mission. • NC Wildlife Conservation Account—Trough partnership with the NC Division of Motor Vehicles, funds are generated through purchase and renewal of a Wildlife Resources personalized license plate for a vehicle, camper, or trailer. Since 2000, the personalized license plate program has provided more than $300,000 for wildlife conservation. • NCWRC has developed incentives for conservation-based local government land-use planning. NCWRC has established a pilot program called Partners for Green Growth to provide cost-share funding to local governments to assist them in enhancing priority wildlife habitat conservation through their land-use planning. Details about this fund- ing can be found on the Green Growth Toolbox website. • North Carolina has 21 local land trusts that work with landowners to ensure critical lands are protected for clean drinking water, recreation, tourism, healthy forests, and working farms that produce fresh, local foods. Land trusts range from small groups run by dedicated volunteers to large and complex organizations. Tese groups refect the communities they serve—protecting a single river or open space within a town, build- ing urban trails, or saving thousands of acres to create a new park. Te one trait shared by all is a passion for protecting North Carolina’s unique natural heritage. Find a land trust by visiting the Conservation Trust for North Carolina web page. 6.2.4 Conservation Tools and Data Resources Conservation occurs across the landscape on many diferent scales and there currently is no single resource that maps where land conservation occurs. Several Geographic Information System (GIS) and map viewer tools representing diferent aspects of conser- vation in North Carolina are available on the internet. Tis Section highlights a few of the mapping tools that are benefcial to conservation planning. Some of the tools rely on others
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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