NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The conservation deal intended to protect over 1,100 acres of Sledge Forest wetlands has failed.
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Unique Places to Save, a North Carolina conservation nonprofit, announced Friday that its grant application to the North Carolina Land and Water Fund was unsuccessful, forcing the organization to withdraw its plan to purchase and conserve 1,160 acres of the 4,000-acre Sledge Forest tract from developer Copper Builders. Unique Places to Save had entered into the agreement with Copper Builders in March, contingent on receiving the NCLWF grant, which was a $10.2-million request to fund the acquisition.
Port City Daily asked the North Carolina Land and Water Fund why it denied the application but didn’t hear back by press.
To cluster all 4,000 proposed Hilton Bluffs units onto the site’s roughly 1,000 buildable acres, New Hanover County regulations require Copper Builders to formally conserve the entire remaining 3,000 acres of wetlands. With the termination of the Unique Places to Save agreement, Copper Builders will have to find an alternative, legally binding mechanism to meet the county’s conservation mandate if they intend to move forward with the full 4,000-unit count.
Port City Daily reached out to Copper Builders founder Wade Miller for comment on the denied application and if Copper Builders is considering other conservation options for the property. A response was not received by press.
On Friday, Unique Places to Save issued a press release on the denial, stating that while they are disappointed that the grant application was unsuccessful, their commitment to conservation remains.
“Sledge Forest represents a unique and irreplaceable natural resource, and we encourage continued efforts to protect it for future generations,” Unique Places to Save Executive Director Christine Pickens wrote.
This is not the first time Unique Places to Save has had a grant application denied for land in this corner of southeastern North Carolina. In 2022, the group sought to purchase 82 acres on Eagle’s Island across from downtown Wilmington for $16 million to prevent a hotel development. The grant request was denied by the NCLWF due to the size and a lack of local government support.
Local advocate group Save Sledge Forest, which has vehemently opposed the Unique Place to Save grant for the Castle Hayne land, expressed satisfaction with the NCLWF’s decision. The group argued the proposal was a “financial maneuver” that would benefit the developer using taxpayer money to conserve undevelopable land — in this case wetlands.
“We’re gratified that the Land and Water Trust Fund recognized the disingenuous nature of the grant proposal in itself, in regard to the simple fact that the property in question is not in jeopardy by development,” Save Sledge Forest advocate and environmental educator Andy Wood told Port City Daily Friday. “The focus on buying unbuildable wetland forest seems more like subsidizing the developer to maximize private profit rather than using due diligence to protect our region’s most imperiled places and natural heritage.”
Wood noted the goal for Save Sledge Forest is to conserve all 4,000 acres, not just a section of the property. The forest also was recognized as part of the Old Growth Forest Network’s National Index of Threatened Forests earlier in the summer, although the designation does not provide any legal protections for the property and the development will still proceed by-right.
Additionally, Wood pointed to Cooper Builders for “cybersquatting” — which is registering a domain name similar to a trademark or person’s name, with the intent to profit from its existing reputation. The official advocacy site is SaveSledgeForest.org, however, the developer has obtained SavesSedgeForest.com which routes people to a promotional website for the Cooper Builders’ planned Hilton Bluffs development.
On Monday, Oct. 6, Save Sledge Forest will be holding a rally and delivering nearly 12,000 petition signatures to the New Hanover County commissioners at their regular 4 p.m. meeting. The group plans to gather for the rally at 3 p.m. outside the New Hanover County Courthouse before entering the meeting to present the petition to commissioners.
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