Stats for the State of North Carolina Certified Signature Sanctuaries: 4 Featured Signature Courses: Black Forest on Lake James Pinehurst, Centennial #8 The Palisades The Sanctuary

Black Forest on Lake James
Located on the north shore of Lake James, immediately east of the North Branch of the Catawba River, Black Forest is a mixture of housing, recreation, and nature preserve set on 609 acres in northwestern North Carolina near Marion.  Audubon International’s goal in working with Crescent Resources on this property was to preserve its natural communities of plants and wildlife and to buffer the Pisgah National Forest to the north from development pressures.  In addition, Audubon International worked to protect the numerous aquatic resources of the property, including Lake James shoreline, the Catawba River, and the upland stream systems that drain the property.

The name of the community was inspired by the character of the property itself, which resembles the Black Forest in Germany.  It served as the natural setting for the filming of the Last of the Mohicans.  Black Forest’s 56 private lot preserves range in size from three to 21 acres and are either riverfront or lakefront, many with dramatic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Pisgah National Forest.

A major natural feature of the Black Forest site is the floodplain forest along the North Branch of the Catawba River. To protect these piedmont and Appalachian floodplain communities and other ecological features, roadways were constructed with no curbs or gutters, and vegetated swales were used to direct flow away from the roads.  The maximum amount of imperious surface allowed for each lot is 7% of the total lot area.  To limit the extent of disturbance, the maximum disturbed area for each lot is limited to 14% of the total lot area.  To limit erosion hazards and create unsightly cuts into the landscape, slopes equal to or greater than 35% are not disturbed.  A 100-foot setback vegetative buffer is being provided around the periphery of the project along the James shoreline.  All parking lots are pervious surfaces, as are trails and driveways to camps. 

On July 6, 2006, Black Forest was certified as the first Gold Signature Sanctuary in the western North Carolina mountains.  For more information about Black Forest on Lake James, please visit its website at www.blackforest.com.

Pinehurst, Centennial # 8
The sandhill uplands of Moore County in south central North Carolina provide the setting for the 350-acre eighth Certified Audubon Signature Cooperative Sanctuary.  Pinehurst Centennial # 8 is flanked by colorful wetlands that highlight such plants as switch cone, American spikenard, and sweet pepperbush.  Wildlife includes red-tailed hawk, box turtle, cottonmouth, and pine barrens tree frog.  The 18-hole golf course is among the first courses in the United States to become involved in the United States Fish and Wildlife Services’ “Safe Harbor Program.”  The Safe Harbor Program is aimed at protecting endangered species through agreements between government and private landowners that provide greater land management flexibility overall in return for specific protective measures.  In this case, the red-cockaded woodpecker is a federally listed endangered species and is endemic to the pine forest of the southeastern United States.  Pinehurst # 8 became the first Certified Audubon Signature Cooperative Sanctuary in North Carolina on March 31, 1998.
See more of Pinehurst #8 at www.pinehurst.com

The Palisades
The Palisades is a 1,600-acre mixed-used community comprised of golf, residential, and commercial activity being built along Lake Wylie near Charlotte, North Carolina.  Lake Wylie is the largest and oldest of four lakes on the Catawba River, which supplies much of the drinking water to more than 700,000 residents of Mecklenburg County. Therefore, water quality protection measures have featured prominently in the project’s design, construction, and management. 

In addition to the required 50-foot undisturbed vegetative buffer adjacent to the shoreline of lower Lake Wylie and tributary streams, an additional 50 feet of undisturbed vegetative buffer has been added to protect water quality.  The Palisades’ Water Quality Plan requires that The Palisades’ residents minimize the use of pesticides, herbicides, and dangerous nutrients that can be transported via irrigation or storm water runoff.

Developed by Rhein Medall Communities, the project’s estimated build-out is 2,400 residential units.  Residents have the option to choose homes built to Energy Star standards by two of the project’s custom builders, Regal Custom Home Builders and Beacon Builders.  To provide wildlife corridors, every lot has a tree protection area of 35 feet in the rear setback of the lot and each neighborhood has its own park. Over thirty percent of the land is dedicated to open space, parks, trails, and the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, built and owned by Blythe Construction Inc.  Only 65 acres of the 185-acre golf course is irrigated.  On July 5, 2006, The Palisades Phase I residential and the golf club became the first golf community in North Carolina to become certified as a Gold Signature Sanctuary.  To see more of The Palisades, visit its web site at www.thepalisades.info.

The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary, located in North Carolina along seven miles of quiet northern shoreline of Lake Wylie,  is situated on topography typical of the Piedmont  area of North Carolina, with its ridges and valleys.   Just outside Charlotte, the 1,348- acre property boasts only 189 homesites, with 80% of the property left undisturbed and 215 acres in common open space.  Crescent Communities created a plan calling for a 200-foot-wide conservation corridor, or lakefront setback, which is four times the county requirement.   Lots range in size from two to more than 13 acres, with an average size of five acres. Audubon International worked with Crescent to customize a “development envelope” for each of these "private preserve" lots, designating areas for the main house, detached guest house, and smaller buildings.  All vegetation outside the development envelope will be preserved with no clearing and minimal pruning.  The sales center is typical of the homes that will be built.  In place of a manicured lawn is a grove of mature trees.  The structure  blends into the surroundings  through the use of stone, wood, and trim in earth tone colors.  Environmentally desirable materials used in the sales center include such things as: framing material purchased from renewable resource lumber farms; truss-joist floor joints consisting  of recycled materials; Oriented Strand Board (OSB) used for exterior and roof sheathing; recycled material used in subflooring;  wall insulation  made from recycled paper (cellulose);  hot water circulating system which supplies “on demand” hot water;  carpet made from recycled soda containers; a  driveway made of a pervious concrete pavement to minimize storm-water runoff that could cause erosion and pollute the lake; a rain garden in the center of the cul de sac of the driveway that will treat/filter the water before it enters the stormwater system.  Total denuded area of each preserve is no more than 15%, with the total maximum impervious cover on each "private preserve" lot as 12%.  The Sanctuary was designated as the first Gold Signature Sanctuary in the state of North Carolina on September 1, 2004.  Visit The Sanctuary at www.thesanctuary-crescent.com.