North Carolina's conservation acquisitions are primarily supported by five dedicated sources of funding:

The Natural Heritage Trust Fund
The Natural Heritage Trust Fund is a supplemental funding source for state agencies to acquire and protect the state's ecological diversity and cultural heritage and to inventory the natural areas of the state. http://www.ncnhtf.org/

The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund
The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund is the primary source of funding to build and renovate facilities in the state parks as well as to buy land for new and existing parks. The PARTF program also provides dollar-for-dollar grants to local governments to acquire land and/or to develop parks and recreational projects that serve the general public. http://www.ncparks.gov/About/grants/partf_main.php

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund
The Clean Water Management Trust Fund provides grants to local governments, state agencies and conservation nonprofits to help finance projects that specifically address water pollution problems. http://www.cwmtf.net/

The Farmland Preservation Trust Fund
The Farmland Preservation Trust Fund was originally established in 1986. In 2005, the legislature renamed the program, the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (ADFP), and broadened the definition to include three grant priorities:
✦ conservation easements
✦ agricultural agreements
✦ programs that develop sustainable or viable agriculture
County governments and non-profit groups are eligible to submit grant proposals to the ADFP Trust Fund. http://www.ncadfp.org/

The N.C. Ecosystem Enhancement Program
The N.C. Ecosystem Enhancement Program combines similar state operations into a single focused initiative, providing high-quality, cost-effective projects for watershed improvement and protection; compensation for unavoidable environmental impacts associated with transportation infrastructure and economic development; and detailed watershed planning and project-implementation efforts in threatened or degraded watersheds. The EEP program, funded by N.C. Department of Transportation mitigation funds, works statewide to restore and enhance streams, wetlands and other sensitive areas.
http://www.nceep.net/