As you drive down interstate 73-74 and cross into Richmond County, it’s almost like you’ve entered a different world. Transitioning from the Uwharries, you’re leaving the rugged terrain of granite outcrops and rocky bedded streams, into a world of flat lands, sandhills, fox squirrels, pygmy rattlesnakes, and wiregrass. The land of the longleaf pine. This is truly a portion of our region unlike the rest, unique and beautiful. And now thanks to Bill Webb, 115 acres of this picturesque setting is permanently protected by conservation easement. In fact, the entire Webb Farm, which encompasses more than a thousand acres, is situated directly on this transition area, and possesses both Uwharrie type ecosystems, with mountain-like streams, and sandhills ecotones, with longleaf pine and flat lands.
Bill Webb, an attorney in Rockingham, was raised in a hunting tradition, and has worked hard to manage his historic family farm as a hunting preserve. In addition to restoring longleaf pines, he actively manages for quail habitat with prescribed burns. Not surprisingly, his excellent wildlife management efforts garnered him the title of WRC Small Game Conservationist of the Year in 2004. The Webb Farm has been featured in Business North Carolina, the Upland Gazette, and the Progressive Farmer, which states that “Webb has worked diligently on his wildlife habitat, and it’s paying off for him.” The hunting here has been featured on ESPN and OLN. This easement protects the current uses of the property and restricts development, allowing no home sites. The property has a beautiful hunting lodge on an adjacent tract.
“As a wildlife conservationist and habitat manager, Bill Webb is a great model and leader in conservation efforts in this area,” says Crystal Cockman, Uwharrie Conservation Specialist with The LandTrust. “The LandTrust is very excited to have closed its first easement in Richmond County, and couldn’t have asked for a better landowner to work with or a more ideal project. From the conversion of a tobacco farm into a recreation based hunting preserve, to the restored longleaf and excellent management practices, this easement has everything you could ask for in a project.” This easement is a wonderful example sure to open doors to more conservation here in the future.
