The TLC-Operated White Pines Nature Preserve
As the first Saturday in June, approaches, we at Great Outdoor Provision Co. are getting ready for one of our most beloved and time-honored traditions: Land Trust Day.
If you're new here, you might be wondering "what is Land Trust Day?" or even "what is a Land Trust?"
Don't worry - we're here to help.
Some of the most overlooked conservation groups, land trusts are nonprofit organizations that preserve and protect land, often acquiring it outright from landowners or using a process called "conservation easement" to conserve lands still under their original ownership. These privately-owned trusts are funded by donations, and the vast majority of them, more than 80%, according to the 2020 National Land Trust census, are open to the public. Land trusts help to actively restore lands damaged by human activity, and the other 20% of trust lands that are not accessible to the public are habitats too fragile for human visitation.
But land trusts don't only operate separately from the state and national parks systems. Have you paddled at the Eno River State Park? Hiked in the South Mountains parklands? Driven the Blue Ridge Parkway? All of these state and national parks and protected areas have benefited from lands stewarded and gifted to them by land trusts within the Carolinas!
In 2026, Land Trusts are becoming more and more crucial. With the loss of over 25 percent of US National Park Service staff, and enormous current and projected budget cuts to the NPS, National Parks are under a real threat. And with the North Carolina General Assembly's failure to pass a budget, the threats to North Carolina are even higher. The N.C. State Parks have been forced to cut their seasonal workforce by almost 50 percent, according to director Brian Strong. The situation looks dire. But we can help.
In the wake of federal and state funding, it's land trusts who step up. Trusts like the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, which saved over 1.5 million dollars to acquire land after the North Carolina General Assembly ended the Conservation Tax Credit (which helped landowners commit their lands to trusts) in 2014. Or like the Triangle Land Conservancy, which has protected more than 26 thousand acres of land in the rapidly expanding Triangle Area. The list of stories like these goes on and on - with over 20 land trusts protecting nature & adventure in North Carolina.
Great Outdoor Provision Co. recognizes the importance of supporting these trusts. That's why we've honored Land Trust Day for more than 50 years. On the first Saturday in June, Great Outdoor Provision Co. donates a percentage of all sales to local land trusts in Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle, Greenville, Wilmington, Charlottesville and Virginia Beach. Whether you're in need of a new boat, want that tent that's a couple of ounces lighter for your next trip, or were just eyeing a new hat online, hope you'll come out on June 8th to support your local land trusts. The ecosystems (and your kids!) will thank you.
If you want to learn more about some specific land trusts not explicitly mentioned here, check out the Blue Ridge Conservancy, Conservation Trust of North Carolina, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, the Foothills Conservancy, the Piedmont Land Conservancy, the Tar river land Conservancy, and the Eno River Association.
