FOR IMMEIDATE RELEASE December 31, 2004 Land Trust Receives Conservation Easement on Waxhaw Creek LANCASTER, SOUTH CAROLINA - D. Lindsay Pettus, President of the Katawba Valley Land Trust, announced today that the organization has received a donation of a conservation easement on a section of Waxhaw Creek below the U. S. 521 bridge in upper Lancaster County. The gift was received from Lucy Crenshaw and Margaret Crenshaw Riddle. The easement will provide protection from development or alteration for an area 50 feet on either side of the stream for a distance of 8,202 feet. "We are grateful to Mrs. Crenshaw and Mrs. Riddle for their willingness to provide protection to the natural resources on Waxhaw Creek," said Pettus. "This site has both natural and historic importance. It will help to protect water quality and preserve important floodplain and woodland habitat. In the early years of our nation, the land belonged to the Crawford family, and it was on this plantation that President Andrew Jackson was born in 1767. Andrew Jackson branch flows into Waxhaw Creek within this easement." The easement, which was signed on December 20, will protect a total of about 18.6 acres of land. Waxhaw Creek is a tributary of the Catawba River, and the easement will help to implement the recommendations of the Catawba River Corridor Plan by enhancing water quality and protecting an important area for diverse animal and bird habitat. The creek has a high biological priority because a population of the Carolina Heelsplitter, a fresh water mussel, has been documented upstream and downstream. This is a federally endangered species. The easement is just downstream from Andrew Jackson State Park. "This land has supported my family for over half a century", said Mrs. Crenshaw. "I believe that we should protect the land and the creatures that seek sustenance there. KVLT will provide the stewardship to assure that this land remains in pristine condition." This easement also represents a partnership with Crescent Resources, LLC, which made funding available for the costs of surveying and documenting the easement through its Catawba River Basin Conservation Easement Fund (CRBCF). CRBCF was established and funded by Crescent Resources to distribute $500,000 toward the creation of conservation easements along the perennial stream channels that flow into the Catawba River Basin. The fund is administered by UNC-Charlotte and Clemson University. The Katawba Valley land Trust is a nonprofit, private conservation organization dedicated to the protection of natural resources, open lands, waters, historic resources, and vistas of aesthetic value in the Catawba River Valley and surrounding areas. To date, the land trust has protected 2,676 acres in 34 land transactions in four South Carolina counties. For additional information, please call Lindsay Pettus at (803) 284-9455 or Mark Grier at (803) 286-6275.

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