As the population of North Carolina increases, so does the need to identify and conserve the most important natural lands and clean waters. Implementing the conservation of North Carolina's green lands and blue waters is the work of many partners. Each agency or organization brings special skills and significant resources to meet the diversity of conservation needs.

One NC Naturally leads a regional mapping effort to identify the highest priority conservation sites. In order to protect the "right" network of natural systems, priorities focus on aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. Tracking the progress on this front is the role of the Million Acres initiative with a legislative deadline of 2009.

Accomplishing this monumental task requires significant levels of funding, much of it attributable to the foresight of the N.C. General Assembly, which provides operating dollars for the state's conservation agencies and the four citizen-guided trust funds: Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Natural Heritage Trust Fund, Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and Farmland Preservation Fund. Of equal importance is the conservation commitment of citizens who ultimately guide the efforts of The General Assembly, as well as the actions of the nonprofit organizations and their members spread across the state.

The Natural Heritage Program provides an inventory of the state's natural treasures, identifying plants and animals most in need of protection.. Significant Natural Heritage Areas, important for sustaining biodiversity and supporting high quality or rare natural communities, rare species or special animal habitats, are considered core areas for conservation. The staff works with public and private landowners to determine the best avenues for protection.

Through its "New Parks for a New Century" initiative, the Division of Parks and Recreation has identified some of the most treasured and threatened of natural resources as potential additions to the state parks system.

The Plant Conservation Program is responsible for protection of North Carolina's endangered and threatened plant species. As part of the Million Acres Initiative, the program has been authorized to develop a pipeline for acquisition of 44 of the best sites remaining for 27 federally endangered plant species.

The Division of Water Quality oversees basinwide water quality planning, which is a nonregulatory, watershed-based approach to restoring and protecting the quality of North Carolina's surface waters. With funds allocated from the U.S. EPA Clean Water Act's Section 319 Grant Program, the division administers a competitive grant process to various agencies, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions to help pay for the development of innovative, exemplary strategies and projects that protect watersheds.

The Division of Water Resources Development Project Grant Program provides cost-share grants and technical assistance to local governments. This program can help provide public recreation access to streams and lakes and can correct stream bank erosion or other water management programs in parklands.

The Wildlife Resources Commission sponsors many programs that promote conservation and wise use of the state's abundant natural resources and provides assistance for landowners wishing to manage wildlife on their lands. A Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy has been developed to prioritize conservation efforts. The Habitat Conservation Program protects, manages and conserves aquatic, wetland and upland habitats for the benefit of fish and wildlife populations. The Cooperative Upland habitat Restoration and Enhancement program aims to increase habitat and improve small game and songbird populations on private and public land.