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Pat McCrory, Governor <br />Donald R. van der Vaart, Secretary <br />February 13, 2015 <br />State and federal agencies sign agreement to protect 8,000 acres around <br />Jordan Lake <br />RALEIGH — State and federal officials have signed an agreement that protects nearly 8,000 <br />acres of environmentally rich land around Jordan Lake, the source of drinking water for much of <br />the Triangle. <br />Under the arrangement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns Jordan Lake and the <br />surrounding property and the state agencies with site management responsibilities in the area, <br />have agreed to maintain 14 separate parcels of land in their existing condition to avoid any <br />damage to their unique characteristics. <br />"Registry agreements are voluntary arrangements developed between landowners and DENR to <br />manage and protect properties with rare plants, animals or other outstanding natural areas," said <br />Donald R. van der Vaart, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural <br />Resources. `By signing this agreement, DENR and its partners will act to protect this land with <br />its diverse wildlife and good examples of the large bottomland forests that once dominated the <br />Triassic Basin." <br />The Jordan Lake Project includes about 45,000 acres in Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake <br />counties, and a large reservoir that serves as the drinking water source for Cary, Apex, Durham <br />and a host of other Triangle communities. Much of the 8,000 acres included in the registry <br />agreement is associated with the floodplains and wetlands of the Jordan Lake Project and has <br />been identified by DENR's Natural Heritage Program as having rare or representative examples <br />of ecosystems and natural communities, geologic landforms, and habitats for endangered or <br />threatened plants and animals. <br />The parties to the registry agreement include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the <br />land, as well as the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, DENR (through the N.C. Division of <br />Parks and Recreation), and the N.C. Forest Service — all of which help manage the property. <br />With permission from landowners, DENR can register and designate areas in North Carolina <br />with rare or diverse features in order to ensure their protection. These registered natural areas <br />