Granville County Forest Management Project

At the request of Granville County a team of students and faculty from the Nicholas School and Nicholas Institute will develop a plan to manage 750 acres of forest land owned by the county near the Town of Butner in the Upper Neuse River Basin/Falls Lake watershed during the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011. The team will consider managing the land for multiple benefits (ecosystem services), including clean water (including nitrogen and phosphorus credits, if any), carbon sequestration, timber production, wildlife, and recreation.

The State of North Carolina manages the 8000 acre Umstead Farm in Granville County and may consider the management plan developed for Granville County.

This project will complement local and state efforts to protect and restore water quality and quantity in the Upper Neuse River Basin/Falls Lake watershed. It could also be a model for conservation management of private lands for multiple benefits in the watershed.