LAURINBURG —The Three Rivers Land Trust is bringing on its first Scotland County member for its board of directors.
TRLT, which works to ensure the conservation of natural resources, recently announced that Frances Willis was one of four new board members.
In 2019 the Sandhills Area Land Trust was merged with TRLT, which brought the TRLT’s coverage from 10 counties to 16 along with several longleaf pine ecosystems in Lee and Robeson counties.
“I think more people are familiar with SALT in this area because it was a smaller land trust that encompassed our county,” Willis said. “But just like anything else, there’s costs with staff and everything, so it made more sense for them to combine.”
Willis went on to say when the two merged TRLT reached out to find someone from Scotland County to be a part of the board who believed in their mission statement which is to preserve and protect natural resources.
“It also includes farmland, historical properties and that appeals to me,” Willis said. “It’s just something that’s been important to me and I feel very lucky that I can be a part of this organization particularly at this point in my life. Not only do I feel connected to the land but I’m concerned about future generations and their access to these public lands.”
While Willis admits that her background isn’t necessarily conducive to the land trust she still feels like she’ll be willing to help spread the word about what the non-profit does.
“They want people who believe in this mission statement, who can spread the word and know people who can help them reach their goals,” Willis said. “So I feel like that’s what I can bring to the table, especially in our area … there are all kinds of events across the region that they do. They’ve got a lot of activities and a lot of educational opportunities that by having a representative in Scotland County the community here will see more of those activities come more into this area. I hope to make the citizens away from all the activities whether it’s for education or just for fun.”
Willis hopes to bring more of the TRLT’s activities to Scotland County and work to educate the community on what there is for them.
“You’ve got all these natural resources but if you don’t have access to the Lumber River for example that’s in our area it doesn’t do anyone any good,” Willis said. “So I do believe it’s important to have as many easements and land trusts as we can to ensure that citizens have access to the state’s natural resources.”
Reach Katelin Gandee at [email protected].
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