Save Sledge Forest

Protecting our last, largest expanse of
Old Growth Forest in New Hanover County.

Sledge Forest is a local natural treasure Spread across over 4000 acres in Castle Hayne.

Recognized as harboring some of the last, best examples of this ecoregion’s globally significant habitats and biodiversity, Sledge Forest is now threatened to be destroyed forever with the plan to build 4000+ homes for developer profit at public risk.

Remaining mostly untouched through 6000 years of habitat evolution, it is a biodiverse community of plants & animals, including 350-year-old pine trees more than 60’ tall and cypress dated more than 500 years, with a vast array of rare and imperiled plants and wildlife that need Sledge Forest as their home.

It is considered by the NC Heritage Program to be of National Significance.

Application and Preliminary Plans for Hilton Bluffs

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Get information on Sledge Forest and the proposed development and how that will affect the local community.

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More About Sledge Forest and Why It Needs Protection

Sledge Forest is a 4,000-acre piece of the Northeast Cape Fear River Significant Natural Heritage Area, located in northern New Hanover County and recognized as harboring some of the last best examples of this ecoregion’s globally significant habitats and biodiversity, and now threatened to be destroyed for developer profit at public risk.

We want policymakers to ask themselves a question: “What could possibly go wrong with packing 4,000 houses into this flood-hazard area, potentially threatened with contamination from carcinogenic chemicals from a nearby chemical plant, and adding 30,000 daily car trips to an already congested two-lane emergency evacuation road?

Though originally zoned for Conservation, Wetland Protection, and Aquifer Recharge, Sledge Forest’s natural importance was put aside in 2016 when policymakers arbitrarily rezoned the property to allow high-density development in flooded swamp forest that supports 500-year-old baldcypress. Developing Sledge Forest will also destroy one of the world’s last intact stands of old-growth, 300-year-old Longleaf Pine, the State Tree of North Carolina.

Our petition is in keeping with the First Amendment: “…the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

To date, no policymaker questions have been asked or answered about risk, public safety, and environmental protections. Legal loopholes in county planning excludes county taxpayers from the opportunity to have their concerns heard by policymakers.

Again, Save Sledge Forest is calling on policymakers to pause and think about consequences of adding thousands houses in a flood prone area that’s only served by an already traffic-congested two-lane road. We also want questions answered about nearby plumes of chemical compounds

Make your voice heard while you can. Sign our petition and help Save Sledge Forest—our future generation’s by-right natural heritage.