Our History
The Founding of the DLC
In 2000, Mayor Randy Kincaid invited Davidson citizens, town staff, and elected officials to form a task force to explore ways to protect green space. Citizens Ron Charbonneau, Bob Cumming, Lynn Henderson, Chris Sekarak, Martha Strawn, and Elizabeth Whitener were joined by Town Manager Leamon Brice, Town Attorney Rick Kline, Town Planner Dawn Blobaum, and Commissioners David Martin and John Woods.
One of the options that the task force explored was a land conservancy, and if such a conservancy should be independent or linked to the Town. The task force found good examples of town-linked conservancies, such as the Williamsburg Lands Conservancy in Virginia, and independent conservancies, such as the Catawba Lands Conservancy and the LandTrust for Central North Carolina. Given the strained relationship between the rural landowners and the town of Davidson at the time, the task force moved in the direction of an independent land conservancy.
So the task force interviewed key participants from established independent land conservancies. Ron Altmann, Director of the Catawba Lands Conservancy in Charlotte, offered a copy of CLC's bylaws for reference and his staff’s assistance. Jeff Michael of the LandTrust for Central North Carolina in Salisbury helped the task force to better understand the roles and possibilities of trusts. These meetings began the important relationships between the DLC and these well-established conservancies. By May 2000, the task force decided to form a conservancy independent of the town of Davidson.
At a Town Commissioners' meeting on May 9, 2000, the task force announced its decisions that the DLC would begin as an independent land conservancy and that the CLC would serve as its founding partner. CLC offered legal advice, staff time, and its legitimacy as a well-founded and successful conservancy. Later, the Town offered the DLC financial support for that first year, an informal relationship that has continued to this day.
At that Commissioners' meeting, Mayor Kincaid said, “Forming this group independent of town government is an important step in continuing our efforts to moderate growth in Davidson, to keep our surrounding land for the enjoyment of all citizens.”
On July 21, 2000, the State of North Carolina approved the Articles of Incorporation for Davidson Lands Conservancy, Inc. Ron Charbonneau became the registered agent of DLC and served as the President of the first Board of Directors. Robert Cumming, Lynn Henderson, Chris Sekerak, and Martha Strawn also moved from task force to members of the new board. The Executive Committee included President Charbonneau, Vice-President Strawn, Treasurer Budd Berro, Secretary Bob Cumming, and two members at large: Matthew Churchill and DeWitt Crosby.
The Catawba Lands Conservancy played an integral role in DLC's development. The DLC Board of Directors ratified a Memorandum of Agreement between the two on August 2, 2000, which stated, “The CLC and the DLC can jointly accomplish an increased level of land acquisition and permanent protection in Davidson. Specifically, this partnership effort is directed to the conservation of open space lands in the Davidson region.”
In return for CLC’s assistance, the DLC agreed to pay it $30,000 that first year. In addition, the DLC Board of Directors would be expanded to include two representatives from the CLC, and the CLC Board would have two representatives from the DLC. In the second year, the memorandum was changed to having one DLC member on the CLC’s Board and one DLC representative on the CLC’s Acquisition Committee.
As an additional stipulation of the original memorandum, the CLC was to have provided the DLC with a piece of property by the end of the first year of relationship. Although the CLC did not fulfill this stipulation, the CLC had signed an option on a piece of property by the end of 2001, the potential expiration date of the memorandum. This project became the conservation easement on the Brackett Bluff property owned by Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation that, after challenges arising from neighboring landowners’ violations of the easement, was transferred to the DLC in 2009.
In the spring of 2001, DLC began to identify lands for acquisition and worked to secure a solid membership base. It achieved financial support from a Town grant and a generous private matching donation of $10,000.
It held its first annual meeting in October, 2001. Vice President Strawn succeeded Charboneau and began her role as president. A new board and officers were elected, including VP for Long Range Planning Doug Boone, VP of Development Russ Gavitt, Recording Secretary Bob Cumming, Corresponding Secretary Nancy Lingle, and Treasurer Budd Berro.
The Board of Directors approved the first DLC Project Selection Criteria on February 4, 2002. At the same meeting, the Board reviewed a draft of DLC's Land Stewardship Policies written by biology professors Dave Grant and Mark Stanback using CLC stewardship documents for reference.
