FOR THE RECORD

Pact to preserve Sugar Creek

Chairs of three county governments unite in pledge to protect watershed

A letter from Polly Jackson, Lancaster County (S.C.) Council chair; Parks Helms, Mecklenburg County commissioners' chair, and Mike Short, York County (S.C.) Council chair:

Much has been said about the need for new ways of doing things as we move into the 21st century. Mindful of this, we, the chairs of the Lancaster, Mecklenburg and York county boards, have signed a memorandum of understanding expressing our firm intentions to work jointly to preserve the Sugar Creek watershed.

As far as we know, this is a first - certainly for our three governments and perhaps for any three county governments in the South.

The Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department launched its ambitious Sugar Creek Greenway Project earlier this fall, and we commend and support this effort, but our vision is even broader, because it involves three counties, not one.

We are pledged to use strategic land-banking to restore the quality of water in Sugar Creek through our cooperative partnership.

We have come together out of our shared concern based on the burgeoning population growth and the resulting conversion of agricultural and forest lands to residential and commercial uses. A balance must be found between economic and population growth and the protection of our natural resources.

If we are to achieve our goals, and we must, we'll need to work together to preserve our current high quality of life.

We love our lands and fully recognize the importance of clean water for our citizens and future generations.

While vowing cooperation, we affirm the rights and responsibilities of our individual governments. Regional approaches and solutions are possible with benefit to all. And we can certainly work collaboratively with landowners and nonprofit conservation groups to protect critical lands.

At stake are the waters of Sugar Creek and the tributaries of its watershed, including Little Sugar Creek, Briar Creek, Four Mile Creek, Irwin Creek, McMullen Creek, McAlpine Creek, Steele Creek and Taggart Creek.

We will be working with landowners and land conservation groups such as the Catawba Land Conservancy, the Katawba Valley Land Trust, the Nations Ford Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land.

Our goal is to develop a 50-year strategy for Sugar Creek by acquiring and preserving remaining undeveloped land within the historic floodplain and adequate upland buffers, restoring degraded portions, developing local funding to purchase lands or easements, developing stewardship programs, replacing degraded portions with the hydrological equivalents and, finally, establishing a protocol to address emergencies such as flooding and contamination.

We plan an annual fall forum to discuss existing and proposed efforts to carry out what we envision.