Orton Plantation owner Louis Moore Bacon was one of several recipients of this year’s North Carolina Land Trust awards, recognized for his efforts to conserve the 18th-century Brunswick County plantation and other lands along the North Carolina coast.
Nominated by the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, Bacon—an environmental philanthropist and direct descendant of Orton builder Roger Moore—was named the Stanback Volunteer Conservationist of the Year for his work to protect the historic property through a conservation easement announced earlier this year. He was also recognized for his previous work to preserve 31 acres on Ocracoke Island that is now Springer’s Point Nature Preserve.
The Orton easement, described as one of the largest conservation easement gifts in the Coastal Land Trust’s history, totaled 6,442 acres that was donated last December and announced in January. Characterized by a variety of natural features, including forestland, creeks, streams and ponds, according to a release, the easement followed the expansion of Orton’s historic boundary “by including woodlands, agricultural fields, restored rice fields, water courses and gardens on an adjacent 1,100 acres that are part of a new nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.”
Related story: More than 6,400 acres at Orton Plantation donated to Coastal Land Trust
The conserved forestland includes stands of longleaf pine and wiregrass, mixed longleaf and loblolly pine, and cypress-gun swamp, the release states. Wildlife habitat protected through the easement includes the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, quail, wild turkey and other upland game birds.
The release includes comments from Camilla Herlevich, executive director of the N.C. Coastal Land Trust, who is quoted as saying: “Louis Moore Bacon is uniquely qualified to be recognized as one of the inheritors of Fred Stanback’s conservation legacy. His donation of a conservation easement over more than 6,442 acres at Orton Plantation is one of the most significant conservation donations in the history of the Coastal Land Trust.”
Bacon, a Raleigh native, purchased Orton from the Sprunt family in 2010. Since then, he has worked to return the property and surrounding lands to their original, 18th-century state as a working rice plantation and longleaf pine habitat.
A billionaire hedge-fund manager and avid outdoor sportsman, Bacon created the Moore Charitable Foundation in 1992 to support organizations that preserve and protect wildlife habitat, according to the release, which states the foundation has provided significant funding to more than 200 local, national and international conservation organizations.
Last year, Bacon was named the 52nd person to receive the National Audubon Society’s Audubon Medal for achievements in conservation at Orton and other properties.
Past story: Orton owner honored for conservation efforts
The North Carolina Land Trust awards are given to businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments and individuals who, as stated in the release, “lead efforts to protect the state’s streams and lakes, forests, farms, parkland and wildlife habitat, thereby protecting clean drinking water and air quality, local food, and outdoor recreation.” The awards were announced April 28 at the annual North Carolina Land Trust Assembly in Pine Knoll Shores.
Other recipients of the 2014 awards include: state Sen. Harry Brown, credited with protecting the state’s conservation trust funds; Durham-based Bull City Running, a local business credited with getting people out on trails; the Town of Davidson, described as dedicated to preserving open space; Brevard-based Muddy Sneakers, “a thriving nonprofit that develops future conservationists”; and Tim Sweeney, described as “a dedicated volunteer passionate about protecting the eastern Blue Ridge Mountains and Foothills.”
