Lea-Hutaff Island | Audubon North Carolina

Lea-Hutaff Island | Audubon North Carolina: "Located north of Wilmington between Figure Eight Island and Topsail Island, Lea-Hutaff Island is a 5,641-acre undeveloped barrier island and marsh system that has remained undisturbed by development, dredged sand, and off-road vehicles. It has been battered by storms, flooded, overwashed and eroded, until it is now a low, narrow, ribbon of sand. One of North Carolina’s few remaining relatively pristine barrier islands, Lea-Hutaff is an important sanctuary for wildlife and a peaceful recreation area for people."

Take a tour here with the http://www.capefearnaturalist.com/

Get Out the Vote…For a State Park

Get Out the Vote…For a State Park:
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Lumber River State Park in Robeson and Columbus counties has garnered national attention, becoming an overnight contender in a promotion by Coca-Cola for a $100,000 grant.

The competition in the “America is Your Park” campaign is based solely on online voting, with people being asked to vote – as many times as they like – for a favorite state or national park. Spurred by local tourism officials, Lumber River State Park surged ahead of other North Carolina state parks in early voting, and moved into 10th place (among 3,853 national and state parks) with more than 22,000 votes.

Based on that showing, the state parks system asked all of its supporters to help Lumber River’s quest, primarily using social media including Facebook and Twitter. Votes will be tallied through Aug. 31 at the website: www.livepositively.com/#/americasparks

We hope that consolidating our efforts and choosing Lumber River as the most likely candidate from the state will bring deserved national attention to all of North Carolina’s state parks. We had 14 million visitors to our state parks system last year, and that many supporters can make a difference once they spread the word.

The Lumberton Visitors Bureau launched a similar online campaign earlier this year, collecting enough votes to have the Lumber River named one of the state’s top 10 natural wonders by Land for Tomorrow, a coalition of conservation organizations. An 81-mile stretch of the Lumber is designated a National Wild and Scenic River. The 9,239-acre park features the blackwater river surrounded by floodplain forests, making it a big draw for paddlers and birders.

The $100,000 grant is to be used for new activity equipment, such as bikes and kayaks, or for the restoration and construction of park facilities.

- Lewis Ledford
Director, NC State Parks and Recreation

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Dogwood alliance Demands of KFC

At this point in our campaign, KFC must be fully aware of just how energized the public is to see an end to the useless destruction of our forests. Between the nearly 20,000 emails and letters generated to KFC President Roger Eaton and over 50 media stories on our campaign there is no way they can ignore that reality.

Now it is time for KFC to clearly understand what all of us expect of them and frankly any corporation consuming so many resources from our forests. Over the next few months we will produce an eight part web series to illustrate each and every element of our sustainable packaging demand and how ignoring them is harming Southern forests and communities. Additionally, by setting out the progress other corporations have made along the sustainability journey we will show how KFC is a laggard in every area even while other companies across the country are working hard to make important changes to protect our climate and forests.

With your help our campaign will make KFC a leader. Our series will explain why KFC must:

• Phase out the sourcing of paper products originating from endangered forests
• End the purchasing of paper products from suppliers who are contributing to the conversion of natural forests into plantations
• Maximize the use of post-consumer recycled paper in all its paper products
• When recycled is not available or feasible, source virgin fiber from responsibly managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
• Reduce overall packaging
• Maximize recovery of packaging waste
• Reduce the company's carbon footprint associated with forest products
• Shift their purchasing dollars to suppliers that have policies and practices consistent with these goals

We hope you will follow the series on our interesting and informative blog and would love for you to participate in the discussion via the comments section. Is KFC having a direct impact on you or your community? Or do you have any thoughts or feedback about how fast food companies can make a difference? If so, please contact me here.

For our forests and communities,

Scot Quaranda

Campaign Director

PS Check out our two minute video on the KFC demands and upcoming series below.