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WAKE COUNTY'S OPEN SPACE PROGRAM
WAKE COUNTY'S OPEN SPACE PROGRAM STRIVES TO PROTECT MUCH OF THE REMAINING NATURAL LANDS IN THE COUNTY.
THE PROGRAM'S OBJECTIVE IS TO PROTECT 30% OF WAKE COUNTY’S LAND AREA,
ROUGHLY 165,000 ACRES, AS PERMANENT OPEN SPACE.
Thomas Reed is the Open Space Manager at Robertson Millpond Preserve located in Wendell, NC. Thomas, who holds a B.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from NC State University, began working with Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space in 2016, first as a seasonal Park Aide, then as an Open Space Technician, followed by Open Space Assistant Manager. He began serving as the Open Space Manager for Robertson Millpond Preserve in early 2025, and also oversees the Turnipseed Nature Preserve, Sandy Pines Preserve and over 9,000 acres of conservation land in Wake County. In addition to these duties, he also serves as a licensed drone pilot and burn boss for Wake County.
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OPENING REMARKS
Thomas, to start with, can you tell us what is the definition of open space?
Generally, open space is land that has not been converted to residential or commercial development. It can include forests, greenways, parks and preserves, wetlands, floodplains and even working lands such as farms and forestry operations.
What would you say are some of the perceived benefits of preserving open space?
Good question.
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Some of the benefits may be rather obvious such as the preservation of natural resources, the preservation of historic and cultural property, and the insuring of good water quality. But they are also conserved for managed production of resources (forestry and farmland) and the protection of scenic landscapes and future outdoor recreation opportunities.
What about public use? Are these designated open spaces off limits to the public?
For the most part the county’s land holdings are off limits for natural, historical, and cultural resource protections and for the safety of the public, we do however have a few that are open to the public.
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The publicly accessible open space properties are our three Nature Preserves in eastern wake county. They are Robertson Millpond Preserve, Turnipseed Nature Preserve, and Sandy Pines Preserve.
Can some of these open spaces later be transitioned to parks or other recreational facilities? Can you give a few examples?
Yes, some of our open space properties have the potential to be developed into nature preserves, parks, and greenways providing recreational opportunities to visitors.
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At the present time there are a few parcels that are in the process of that transition: Kellam-Wyatt County Park in Raleigh which was donated to wake county and Lake Myra County Park in Wendell.
Does Wake County have an overall plan or goal for the amount of open space it would like to eventually see protected?
Yes it does!
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Its program strives to protect as much of our natural lands as possible. The program's overarching objective is to protect 30% of Wake County’s land area (or roughly 165,000 acres) as permanent open space.
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Attaining this objective will depend on strong partnerships with local non-governmental organizations, municipalities, and state/federal agencies.
There must be tremendous costs associated with land purchases. How are these acquisitions financed?
Open Space acquisition is primarily funded through voter approved general obligation bonds. The County passed bonds in 2000 ($15 million), 2004 ($26 million) and 2007 ($50 million).
Recently there was a combined Parks, Greenways, Recreation and Open Space bond in 2018 of which $20 million was dedicated to open space acquisitions.
These funds are used primarily for land acquisition and planning.
How does the county identify tracts that it would like to purchase and preserve as open lands.
This is a very good question.
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The whole process starts with a GIS-based model developed by County staff to score and rank all 300,000+ parcels of land in Wake County on factors such as acreage, water quality benefits, connectivity, biodiversity, etc.
Staff review the top scoring parcels to validate the model results and work to prioritize properties of interest.
What is the purchasing process like?
The county starts by sending letters to owners of the top scoring parcels explaining the program and asking whether they would consider selling all or part of their property to be used as open space or managed under a conservation easement.
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The program is voluntary for the landowners and allows for them to help conserve their lands for future generations.
How is it decided which offers to pursue and negotiate on?
There is a special committee that evaluates the offers to sell and prepares a slate of recommended acquisitions that is first presented to the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee for input. Then it is presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval.
You mentioned something about conservation easements, could you tell me a bit more about that?
In addition to acquiring land and parcels outright, the county also conserves land through the purchase of conservation easements.
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A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that restricts certain uses of a property to protect its natural and ecological values. These easements apply conservation focused limitations that safeguard the land from future development or degradation, while still allowing the property to remain in private ownership.
Importantly, conservation easements remain in effect permanently, continuing to protect the land even if ownership changes in the future.
What about Greenways? Are greenways part of your open space program?
Yes they are.
I believe that the county’s first involvement with greenways as open space was in 2011 when the City of Raleigh approached Wake County about partnering to construct the Neuse River Greenway. Since that time, the county has continued to partner with municipalities on greenway projects under the guidance of the 2017 Wake County Greenway System Plan.
What is the process for acquiring and preserving greenways as open space?
Greenways are considered to be partnerships through a solicitation process that generally runs in parallel with the open space land acquisition process explained above.
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Staff send each municipality a letter inviting them to submit partnership proposals, including project scope, cost estimates, and the amount of funding requested from the County. The balance of the submission, consideration, review, and approval process is also much the same as for open space acquisitions.
If we want to learn more about the plans and processes for greenways, where can we go?
One can go here and then click on any one of the four Plans & Documents icons that are near the bottom of the page.
In your personal experience, were the any recent, in process, or future purchases that stick out in your mind for their importance and benefits?
Over the years Wake County and Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) have been working together to conserve open space along the Marks Creek Watershed in Eastern Wake County.
This corridor allows for the protection of natural lands and resources in an area that is rapidly growing and becoming more developed.
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Together we have been able to conserve large portions of the drainage and open areas of it to the public as nature preserves.
Wake County manages the public Turnipseed Nature Preserve and TLC operates the Bailey and Sarak Williamson Preserve.
Wake County’s open space program seems so important as the pressures for additional commercial and residential development mount here. Are there any things that we as individuals can do to help the county acquire and preserve open space?
Many residents of our county have, and continue to help us with our open space program, and nature preserves. Learning and then educating others is an integral part of this process.
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Perhaps you have some land or a portion of acreage that you cannot use and wish to donate it for open space preservation. If it is in Wake County's jurisdiction, our staff will examine it based on its potential value as open space.
Anything else we can do as individuals?
Yes, you can get involved with our nature preserves or parks as a volunteer or with a Local Land Trust.
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Perhaps the simplest thing that we as individuals can do, and something we would not normally think about is to steward your own yard or land. Your land and your yard could be the only connection between the fragmented open space lands across the landscape of Wake County. Great examples of this would be the removal of invasives plants, improvement of natural habitats and protection of wildlife.
Is there somewhere we can go to see a list of open spaces, parks, and greenways that are currently under construction, improvement, or have plans to do so?
This is an excellent question and I am pleased to direct you to our Park Projects page where you can learn about the details for our Open Space Acquisition, Greenways Development, New Park Projects, New Preserve Projects, and Improvements to Existing Parks.
We are all very excited about all of these projects and their many benefits for all of us to appreciate and enjoy.
For the management of these open space properties, how does the county oversee and take care of these parcels?
Our Open Space team conducts surveys regularly and monitoring visits to our open space lands and keeps track of many characteristics of the land. They monitor our boundaries for any signs of encroachment or issues that may need to be addressed.
They also survey the land for flora and fauna inventories, classification of natural communities, mapping invasive species, and even monitor any historic structures or cultural resources on the land.
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We also work to manage the habitat through a variety of means such as agricultural leases, native plant restoration, prescribed fire, long term species monitoring and forest management.
What can you tell us about your Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee?
This is an 11-member group appointed by the Board of Commissioners to advise on parks and open space preservation issues. This committee has many responsibilities and a few that I would like to mention are:
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Identify specific types of open space to be included in Wake County's open space program.
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Identify options for the acquisition and conservation of these open spaces.
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Build support with community organizations for an open space preservation program.
As overseer of our existing and developing open spaces, what do you see as your major roles here?
I have been with our Open Space program since the fall of 2016 in a variety of roles and have been able to take part in conserving our open space lands as well as assisting in the development of our three nature preserves and future parks.
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Being able to manage our open spaces allows for our team to be directly involved in conservations efforts in such a rapidly changing and growing region.
As the manager I work with a fantastic team to ensure we are meeting the goals and objectives of our program while also expanding our land management opportunities and helping conserve the land for future generations.
Is there anything else that you want to mention or talk about in regard to the county’s open space program before we leave you to your work?
I would like to take a moment to express the importance of protecting land in such a rapidly urbanizing environment.
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Wake County grows by approximately 66 people every single day and as a result we are seeing huge increases in land development and habitat loss. Through our program we are able to help protect some of the remaining land to provide for future generations. Readers can learn more about the population growth in Wake County here.
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