Conservation Landscape

Feb 5, 2026 • 2 min. read | By Staff Reports

(Courtesy of Unique Places to Save)

A nonprofit organization announced Thursday that it has acquired and recorded a state-led conservation easement on more than 1,040 acres in Brunswick County.

The acres, which include forested wetlands, Carolina bays and sand ridges that support several rare plant and animal communities, are between the towns of Boiling Spring Lakes and St. James, according to a news release from Unique Places to Save.

"The Boiling Spring Wilderness connects two adjacent conservation areas – Orton Plantation, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy and the State of North Carolina’s Boiling Spring Lakes Plant Conservation Preserve – creating a nearly 10,000 acre conservation landscape," the release stated. "Linking large conservation areas is critical to ensuring rare plants and animals have sufficient habitat available and supports effective land management strategies, such as invasive species removal and habitat restoration techniques."

The release stated that the project also helps protect local water quality in alignment with Unique Places to Save’s mission "to restore and conserve natural and working lands and aquatic resources," according to the release.

Unique Places to Save officials said the Boiling Spring Wilderness protects the headwaters of Orton Creek and the wetlands that overlay the Castle Hayne Aquifer, which provides water to thousands of Brunswick County residents.

“Boiling Spring Wilderness demonstrates what is possible when conservation organizations partner with willing landowners to achieve multiple, lasting outcomes. The project protects functioning wetlands that help surrounding communities better withstand flooding and storms, safeguards globally-rare habitats that support biodiversity, and contributes towards a critical safety buffer around Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point,” stated Christine Pickens, executive director of Unique Places to Save, in the release.

Funding for this project was provided by a $3.68 million grant from the N.C. Land and Water Fund.