Conservation agreement for Sledge Forest draws mixed reactions

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A conservation agreement between the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and developer Copper Builders would permanently protect more than 3,200 acres of the Sledge Forest tract along the Northeast Cape Fear River, but the deal has drawn criticism from residents who oppose any development on the property.

Under the purchase-and-sale agreement, Copper Builders would donate about 1,200 acres while the land trust would purchase approximately 2,000 additional acres in what the trust described as a bargain sale. Copper Builders would also provide funding for long-term management of the conserved land.

The property under contract to Copper Builders totals about 4,000 acres in northern New Hanover County. The tract includes extensive wetlands and upland areas with longleaf pine habitat and roughly 8.5 miles of river frontage.

“This is one of the most significant conservation opportunities in New Hanover County in a generation,” said Harrison Marks, Executive Director of the Coastal Land Trust. “More than 3,200 acres, a landscape larger than Carolina Beach State Park, will be permanently protected in the heart of one of the fastest-growing counties on the North Carolina coast.”

Active construction under the approved plan would be limited to about 600 acres in the southeastern portion of the property. However, Copper Builders’ proposed Hilton Bluffs subdivision would include 1,800 homes on approximately 1,800 acres that remain outside the conservation agreement.

The project remains in legal proceedings before the New Hanover County Board of Adjustment, with hearings expected in July 2026.

Save Sledge Forest, a local advocacy group, said the conservation agreement does not adequately protect the forest and could create confusion about the developer’s intentions.

“While we appreciate the Coastal Land Trust efforts, we believe their efforts do not go far enough to protect Sledge Forest and our community,” the group said in a statement. “This agreement could, in fact, have unintended consequences if Coastal Land Trust is misconstrued as being in support of development of the 1800 homes, which Copper Builders still intends to pursue.”

The group said the conservation deal does not change Copper Builders’ proposed development, which would have significant impacts on the rural community. Save Sledge Forest cited concerns, including increased traffic on narrow rural roads, the clear-cutting of hundreds of acres of trees, potential flooding threats, ecosystem disruption during construction, and risks to containment measures at a nearby hazardous waste site.

“We believe that in this rural, agricultural community, promotion of good land stewardship requires opposition to the development proposed by Copper Builders,” the group said. “We remain steadfast in our belief that no development at all on this land is what is best for our community and Sledge Forest.”

Save Sledge Forest said it would continue pursuing legal appeals of the county’s conditional approval of the Hilton Bluffs project and would support other legal challenges filed against Copper Builders.

For more information, click here.

To learn more about the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust click here.