Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler looks at a Wood lily that is being protected as part of the Tater Hill Preserve plant conservation project in Watauga County. Troxler visited the site recently to see some of the ongoing conservation efforts.
The department’s Plant Industry Division is involved with many plant conservation efforts throughout the state. Earlier this year, the division secured grant monies from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund to add acreage to the Tater Hill Preserve, which is the largest preserve in the North Carolina mountains. Among the federally protected plant species at the site are the long stalked holly and Gary’s lily, along with other state endangered plants. The Wood lily Commissioner Troxler saw is currently listed as a significantly rare species, and is being proposed to be listed as endangered.