GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1997 SESSION
S.L. 1997-366
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 113-77.7(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) When the State
acquires land pursuant to this Article, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees
shall may direct a request to the State Treasurer to set aside an
amount from the Fund not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the appraised value
of the land acquired, or the land affected if less than a fee interest was acquired,
to be placed in a special stewardship account in the Fund. The special
stewardship account shall be a nonlapsing account, and income derived from
investment of the account shall be credited to the account. The special
stewardship account shall be used for the management of land acquired pursuant
to this Article, as directed by the Trustees, so long as such land remains
in the Trust. Article under the direction of the Trustees."
Section 2. G.S. 113-77.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 113-77.9. Acquisition of lands with funds from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund.
(a) From time to time,
but at least once each year, the Secretary, the Chairman of the North Carolina
Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Commissioner of Agriculture
shall Agriculture, and the Secretary of Cultural Resources may propose
to the Trustees lands to be acquired with funds from the Fund. For
each tract or interest proposed, the Secretary, the Chairman of the North
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Commissioner of Agriculture
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Cultural Resources shall provide
the Trustees with the following information:
(1) The value of the land
for recreation, forestry, fish and wildlife habitat, and wilderness purposes,
and its consistency with the plan developed pursuant to the State Parks Act,
the State's comprehensive plan for outdoor recreation, parks, natural areas
development, and wildlife management goals and objectives; objectives.
(2) Any rare or endangered
species on or near the land; land.
(3) Whether the land
contains a relatively undisturbed and outstanding example of a native North
Carolina ecological community that is now uncommon; uncommon.
(4) Whether the land
contains a major river or tributary, watershed, wetland, significant littoral,
estuarine, or aquatic site, or important geologic feature; feature.
(5) The extent to which
the land represents a type of landscape, natural feature, or natural area that
is not currently in the State's inventory of parks and natural areas; areas.
(6) Other sources of funds
that may be available to assist in acquiring the land; land.
(7) The State department
or division that will be responsible for managing the land; land.
(8) What assurances exist
that the land will not be used for purposes other than those for which it is
being acquired; and acquired.
(9) Whether the site or structure is of such historical significance as to be essential to the development of a balanced State program of historic properties.
(b) The Trustees may authorize expenditures from the Fund to acquire:
(1) Land that represents the ecological diversity of North Carolina, including natural features such as riverine, montane, coastal, and geologic systems and other natural areas to ensure their preservation and conservation for recreational, scientific, educational, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
(2) Land as additions to the system of parks, State trails, aesthetic forests, fish and wildlife management areas, wild and scenic rivers, and natural areas for the beneficial use and enjoyment of the public.
(3) Subject to the
limitations of subsection (b1), (b2) of this section, land that
contributes to the development of a balanced State program of historic
properties.
(b1) The Trustees may
designate managers or managing agencies of the lands so acquired to receive
grants from the Fund's stewardship account. In authorizing
expenditures from the Fund to acquire land pursuant to this Article, the first
priority shall be the protection of land with outstanding natural or cultural
heritage values. Land with outstanding natural heritage values is land that is
identified by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program as having State or
national significance. Land with outstanding cultural heritage values is land
that is identified, inventoried, or evaluated by the Department of Cultural
Resources. The Trustees shall be guided by any priorities established by the
Secretary, the Chairman of the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the
Commissioner of Agriculture Agriculture, and the Secretary of
Cultural Resources in their proposals made pursuant to subsection (a),
above. (a) of this section.
(b1)(b2) The Trustees may
authorize expenditure of up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds credited
to the Fund pursuant to G.S. 105-228.30 during the preceding fiscal year to
acquire land under subdivision (3) of subsection (b). (b) of this
section. No other funds in the Fund may be used for expenditures to
acquire land under subdivision (3) of subsection (b). (b) of this
section.
(c) The Trustees may
authorize expenditures from the Fund to pay for the inventory of natural areas by
the Secretary's conducted under the Natural Heritage Program conducted
pursuant to Chapter 113A, Article 9A, of the General Statutes. established
pursuant to the Nature Preserves Act, Article 9A of Chapter 113A of the General
Statutes. The Trustees may also authorize expenditures from the Fund to
pay for conservation and protection planning and for informational programs for
owners of natural areas, as defined in G.S. 113A-164.3.
(d) The Department of
Administration may, pursuant to G.S. 143-341, acquire by purchase, gift, or
devise all lands selected by the Trustees for acquisition pursuant to this
Article. Title to any land acquired pursuant to this Article shall be vested in
the State. State agencies A State agency with management
responsibilities for lands management responsibility for land acquired
pursuant to this Article may enter into a management agreements in
the form of leases with counties, cities, and towns agreement or lease
with a county, city, town, or private nonprofit organization qualified under
G.S. 105-151.12 and G.S. 105-130.34 and certified under section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code to aid in managing the lands, and such lease
agreements land. A management agreement or lease shall be
executed by the Department of Administration pursuant to G.S. 143-341.
(d1) In any county in which real property was purchased pursuant to subsection (d) of this section as additions to the fish and wildlife management areas and where less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the land area is privately owned at the time of purchase, that county and any other local taxing unit shall be annually reimbursed, for a period of 20 years, from funds available to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in an amount equal to the amount of ad valorem taxes that would have been paid to the taxing unit if the property had remained subject to taxation.
(e) The Secretary shall maintain and annually revise a list of acquisitions made pursuant to this Article. The list shall include the acreage of each tract, the county in which the tract is located, the amount paid from the Fund to acquire the tract, and the State department or division responsible for managing the tract. The Secretary shall furnish a copy of the list to each Trustee and to each House of the General Assembly after each revision.
(f) No provision of this Article shall be construed to eliminate hunting and fishing, as regulated by the laws of the State of North Carolina, upon properties purchased pursuant to this Article."
Section 3. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of July, 1997.
s/ Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
s/ Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor
Approved 5:36 p.m. this 6th day of August, 1997