Plant Industry - Plant Protection Section

Why Plant Conservation Preserves?

The Plant Conservation Program has the unique mission to acquire and manage preserves for the explicit purpose of ensuring the survival of our native flora.

Although North Carolina has many public conservation lands such as State Parks, Game Lands, and National Forests, the goal of these areas is not typically to protect imperiled plant species and many of these lands were established in areas where the rarest species simply do not occur. Native plants may have specific management needs not met by, or even in conflict with, the primary mission for which the land is managed. A system of public and/or private conservation lands designed to protect plants is the best way to ensure their survival.

State and federal laws provide almost no legal protection for plants, even imperiled species. They are treated as the property of the landowner, who is in no way obligated to maintain them. Even when landowners voluntarily safeguard rare plants on their property, the protection often lasts only until the property is sold or the landowner’s priorities change. For these reasons, the survival of our native flora relies heavily upon land ownership permanently and specifically dedicated to its conservation.