Foundation NewsVOLUME 11

SEPTEMBER 2015

A PUBLICATION OF THE WALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

TO PRESERVE OPEN LAND, TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE WILDLIFE HABITAT, AND TO OFFER A PLACE FOR EQUESTRIAN PURPOSES

THE BUSHWHACKER CLUB IS ON THE MOVE!

Photos by Diane Stephens

The 2015 Bushwhacker Club kicked off the fallseason on Sunday, August 15th with a jumpbuilding and repair day. Thirty-eight cheery

volunteers braved the heat to help rebuild six existingjumps on Old Mail Road, Firelane 1, and Firelane 1Extension. Two groups, under the direction of NormMinery, Neil Schwartzberg, and Jock Tate, tore down theexisting jumps and replaced them with new telephonepoles and wings. Each jump was built with a high sideand low side, to provide an option for horse and rider.Please use caution when jumping as there are severalstumps on the take off and landing side leftover from thetree removal. Our team will be grinding the stumps andfilling the holes over the next few weeks.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who showedup for the August Jump Building Day! Additional thanksgo to Diane Stephens for documenting the day and fortaking great photographs!

Help is still needed for the remaining two Bushwhackertrail clearing days: September 27 and October 11. Pleaseemail Sassy Riley at office@walthour-moss.org if youwould like to sign up for any of those dates.

WMF BUSHWHACKER CLUB MEMBERS GATHER FOR COFFEE DONUTS AND DIRECTIONS PRIOR TO THE START OF JUMP BUILDING

DIGGING NEW POST HOLES

SETTING LOGS

SEPTEMBER 2015 PAGE 2

JOIN THE 2015

BUSHWHACKER CLUB

FOR TRAIL CLEARING DAYS

SEPTEMBER 27OCTOBER 11

To volunteer please call 910-695-7811 oremail office@walthour-moss.org

Leigh AllenJim BakerJanie BolandJulia Brown

Allison and Bentleigh BurlingameBonnie and Bob CaieFran Cornatzer

Chrissie and Peter DoubledayMills Farris Joan HarperDoug Jackson

Susan and Laura LindamoodAntonio Martinez

Babs and Norm MineryWayne MooreDennis Paules

Heidi Grimm Powell and Doug PowellKathy PowitchkoAngela RenfrowSassy Riley

Bryan RosenbergMary RuedisueliLandon Russell

Priscilla and John SabolNeil SchwartzbergDiane StephensJock Tate

Mark ThompsonSusan and Charlie Wain

Mel Wyatt

THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS!

PETER DOUBLEDAY HARD AT WORK PREPPING THE POLES.

VOLUNTEERS WORK TOGETHER TO SET THE FENCES

BOB CAIE WORKS DILIGENTLY TO REMOVE THE OLD POST AND RAILS

Photos by Diane Stephens

SEPTEMBER 2015 PAGE 3

On Saturday, November 7 at 1:00 pm, The North CarolinaSandhills Conservation Partnership will host a gathering atthe Equestrian Road entrance to The Walthour-MossFoundation to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the SafeHarbor Program.

The public is invited to join the celebration and visit withlongleaf pine forest experts to learn more about the SafeHarbor program, the red-cockaded woodpecker, plants ofthe longleaf pine forest, land management practices, and therich cultural history of the area.

The Safe Harbor Program began in the Sandhills at thePinehurst resort. The first Safe Harbor agreement wasdesigned to protect the federally-endangered red-cockadedwoodpecker. These voluntary Safe Harbor agreements havecomplimented other conservation work with the result thatthe local population of red-cockaded woodpeckers wasofficially declared as “recovered” in 2005.

Safe Harbor was, and remains, a great idea – allowing non-federal property owners to enter into a voluntary agreementwith the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect a specieslisted under the Endangered Species Act. These agreementsremove uncertainty for landowners who are trying tomanage their land in a way that attracts endangered orthreatened plants and animals. Property owners don’t haveto worry that, by attracting these animals and plants to theirland, they may face additional land use restrictions down theroad. If their land management unintentionally kills orharms a protected species, they will not face legal action. Thelandowner may choose to return the property to its originalcondition when the agreement expires.

Today, there are 120 Safe Harbor agreements in the NorthCarolina Sandhills, protecting more than 62,500 acres. Inaddition to golf courses, the agreements also include townparks, residential areas, scout camps, horse farms and schoolproperty. There are 73 active red-cockaded woodpeckerclusters living on Safe Harbor lands in the Sandhills. TheWalthour-Moss Foundation Property is part of the SafeHarbor Program. When it enrolled in Safe Harbor back in2003, there were 14 clusters of red-cockaded woodpeckersliving in the Foundation’s longleaf pine forest. Today, good

land management is paying off; there are now 17 clusters ofwoodpeckers living here.

The red-cockaded woodpecker, which prefers to make itshome in mature longleaf pine forests, has benefited across itsrange from Safe Harbor agreements with non-Federallandowners. More than 40 percent of the birds’ knownpopulations live in property protected by Safe Harbor,including the largest Safe Harbor red-cockaded woodpeckeragreement – more than 8,400 acres at Orton Plantation nearWilmington. Property owners across the southeastern UnitedStates are managing longleaf forests to improve red-cockaded woodpecker habitat.

In the past 20 years, Safe Harbor has expanded to more than600 landowners across the country. Today, some 5.2 millionacres of land in 26 states – protecting nearly 100 listed species– are covered by Safe Harbor agreements. In addition to anumber of endangered bird species, the agreements alsoprotect endangered mammals, fish, butterflies and otherinsects, amphibians and reptiles, mussels, and plants. Allbecause of a program that was born here in the Sandhillstwenty years ago!

YOU’RE INVITED!20TH ANNIVERSARY SAFE HARBOR CELEBRATION AND FIELD VISIT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1:00 PMTHE WALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

EQUESTRIAN ROAD ENTRANCE

THE RED COCKADED WOODPECKER IS ONE OF

100 SPECIES COVERED BY SAFE HARBOR AGREEMENTS

Photo by David Kilpatrick

I would like to purchase: _______ Adult Lunch Tickets at $35 each

_______ Child Lunch Tickets at $15 each

___ My check, made payable to The Walthour-Moss Foundation, is enclosed for $_________

___ Please charge my credit card for $______ Card no. _____________________Exp.________CVV ____

Name ___________________________ email: ___________________Phone:__________________

Mailing Address ___________________City _____________________ State _____ Zip ___________

Name(s) of Attendee(s) ______________________________________________________________

* Please return this card along with payment by Sept. 25 to WMF, PO Box 1794, Southern Pines, NC 28388.

* To order tickets by phone, please call 910-695-7811.

* To order tickets online, please logon to walthour-moss.org and click on the order ticket link.

* Please note that the $35 lunch ticket is not tax deductible. The full amount will be used for goods and services.

* Attendees will be given lunch ticket (s) on October 4 at the event registration table. Tickets will not be mailed.

Yes, I (we) will attend The Fourth Annual Horse Country Social !

Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from

the State Solicitation Licensing Section at (919)807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.

THEWALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

Invites You to Attend

The Fourth Annual Horse Country Social

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Noon to 3:00 PM

The Walthour-Moss FoundationHunter Trials Course at Quail GlenOld Mail Road, Southern Pines

�

Catering by The White Rabbit

Lunch Tickets are $35 per adult and $15 per child under 12

Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from

the State Solicitation Licensing Section at (919)807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.

TRICK-AND-TREAT TRAIL RIDEProceeds to Benefit WMF Trail Repair Fund

Sunday, October 25, 2015Riders 9:00 am - 3:00 pm and Carriages 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Trick-and-Treat Trail Ride

Open Start$25 per rider or carriage, $15 per child under age 17

Costume ContestPrizes for costumes will be awarded throughout the day

Picnic in Moor MeadowBring a blanket and a picnic lunch to enjoy in Moor Meadow

CONCESSION ON-SITE FOR FOOD PURCHASE

Early Entries Accepted Through October 23, 2015

Entries accepted by mail, phone or online - Please see entry information on reverse

Ride will be held Rain or Shine

Questions or Comments?Please contact The Walthour-Moss Foundation at 910-695-7811

Number of Participants: _________ Rider___ Driver___

Name: _____________________ Email: ________________ Phone: _____________

Address: ___________________ City: __________________ State:____ Zip: ______

__ My Check, payable to WMF is enclosed for $_____ __ Charge my credit card $_____

Card no: ________________ Exp:_____ CVV:_____ Signature:_____________________

T R I C K - A N D - T R E A T T R A I L R I D E

Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from

the State Solicitation Licensing Section at (919)807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.

PRESERVE OUR FOREST

GOLF TOURNAMENT

TO BENEFIT

THEWALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATIONMID PINES COUNTRY CLUB

DECEMBER 6, 2015

10:30 am Registration � 11:30 am Shotgun Start

Play on a Team- $100 � Sponsor a Hole- $100

Captain’s Choice (Scramble)

$10,000 HOLE IN ONE CONTEST

Prizes for Winners, Closest to Pin and Closest to the LineAwarded in Mid Pines Cosgroves Lounge after the Round

Cash bar and Snacks

For More information, please contact Rick or Anne Thompson at 910-245-4813

or Dick Walsh at 910-692-7719.

TO SIGN UP, PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION TOWMF:

Please list team members and indexes below. If a team member does not have an index, organizers will assign one.

Player 1 ($100) ______________________ Player 2 ($100) ________________________

Player 3 ($100) ______________________ Player 4 ($100) ________________________

___ Assign me to a team ___ I will sponsor a hole ($100 each) Name _________________________

Contact name _____________________Email ______________________Phone: ______________

Mailing Address ____________________City ___________________ State_____Zip________

___ My check, made payable to The Walthour-Moss Foundation, is enclosed for $_________

___ Please charge my credit card for $______ Card no. __________________Exp.______CVV#_____

*Please return this section, along with payment to WMF, PO Box 1794, Southern Pines, NC 28388or call 910-695-7811 to sign up by phone.

SEPTEMBER 2015 PAGE 7

Photo by Katie Walsh

Sand Day Flower (Commelina erecta)

WHAT’S IN BLOOM?

Sand Day Flower is a perennial that grows to 30 cm tall. Leavesare narrow, pointed and 4 -10 cm long. Flowers appear frombroad fused bracts that sheath the stem. Flowers are 1.5 – 3 cmacross. They have two bright blue petals and 1 white smallerpetal. These somewhat succulent flowers inhabit dry longleafpinelands. They bloom throughout the summer until earlyOctober.

Photo by Katie Walsh

Nodding Ladies’ Tresses Orchid (Spiranthes cernua)

Nodding Ladies’ Tresses Orchid is a fleshy perennial that grows12-40 cm tall. The linear leaves 5-25 cm long and 6-20 mm wide.The tiny white flowers have 3 sepals and 3 petals 6-11 mm long.They grow in a dense, spiral inflorescence up to 17 cm long.This common orchid inhabits margins of ponds, stream headsand creeks. It blooms mid September through November.

AVAILABLE NOW

HORSE COUNTRY COOKING!

Save the Date!

The Horse

Country HoedownTO BENEFIT

THEWALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

LYELL’S MEADOW

SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2016

HORSE COUNTRY COOKING IS AVAILABLE

AT THE FOLLOWING RETAIL LOCATIONS

Cabin Branch Tack Shop

Moore Equine Feed and Supply

The Country Bookshop

OR BY GOING ONLINE:

www.horsecountrycooking.com

The Walthour-Moss Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation.

For more information, please contact Landon Russell at 910-695-7811or via email at director@walthour-moss.org or logon to our website atwww.walthour-moss.org.

The Walthour-Moss Foundation

Post Office Box 1794

Southern Pines, NC 28388

THANK YOU TO OUR BUSINESS SPONSORS

Cabin Branch Tack ShopD. Bradley Charles Fencing Co.

DeSell & Co. Realty GroupInnovate Real Estate

Jay-Kar Contracting, Inc.Knowlbrook Farms Inc.

McDevitt Sotheby’s International RealtyMoore Equine Feed & Supply

Victory 500 Marketing

THANK YOU TO OUR BUSINESS FRIENDSAshten’s

Foundation Equine Mobile Medicine and Dentistry

The Country BookshopGeneral Timber, Inc.Velocity Broadband