Property Tax Assessments

Recently, we have each received tax re-appraisal of our properties. According to the Lee County assessor's office, our valuation has gone up a whopping 50% over the past 3 years. There is a part of me that feels this is good; however, it is not realistic and will result in a high tax bill by year's end. We have a narrow window of opportunity to appeal (March 15), but the rules for appealing are strict. This is made worse by the fact that there are no sales in the area for the past 3 years. If everyone appeals in a like manner, it will improve our chances of a favorable ruling.

Mineral Rights

Many property owners have received a call from John Murawski of the News/Observer. He is reporter developing an article on Lee county rural properties whose owners do not have mineral rights. This includes all of the Riverbend community owners. A link to current and prior articles and others are located below.
February 16, 2013
November 18,2011
Huffington Post Feb 9, 2013
Reuter's Feb 8, 2013

To complete your own search of the related issues, click this link for a Google search. There are hundreds of important posts/articles on this issue. The title transfer to us is recorded separately from the mineral and natural gas deeds. Our property mineral rights were bought from Weyerhauser in 1975 by Dan Butler. In 2010 He leased all of the 2,691 acres of mineral rights he owns in Lee County to Whitmar Exploration Co., a Colorado fracking operation. Each of our properties has different mineral deeds and these are recorded separately from our purchase deeds.

Gas exploration on our property and nearby properties is an emotionally charged and highly political issue. Property owners have little protection as the law currently is written. After March 2015 the fracking moratorium is lifted. As noted in an earlier post, if a property owner applies for a mortgage and is denied because of the "split estate" the mineral rights revert to the owner.

RiverBend Hikers

A sunny late December day was an ideal opportunity for my visiting family to enjoy a hike through RB. Wildlife was abundant. This is a very special area. Let's all work to protect it in the new year!

Liz, Chris, Eli and Liam crossing a stream

YooHoo!! Successful crossing.

Endor Iron Works

The 150 year old Endor Iron works will be restored next year and become the centerpiece of a 400 acre park. It is a short canoe ride from RiverBend. See N&O link for more information.

Mineral Rights

I have recently learned that our mineral rights are owned by an individual named Butler who lives in Southern Pines. He purchased all RB owner's MRs from  Weyerhaeuser, the company that originally owned the property. His contract requires him to sell the MRs to the current property owner if they are required to own it as a condition of obtaining a mortgage. The coal deposits at RB are part of a strategic national reserve and are very large. They were mined during the civil war by the confederates but had a high sulfur content which allowed rebel steam ships to be identified "over the horizon." Because of this high sulfur content, commercial mining has been abandoned since then. New technologies however, are available to clean the emissions.

Steve Lanning has recently done some additional gravel repairs to the main road. Still no buyers for the properties for sale: Rosenburg, Stringham, Lanning.

Deer hunting season always attracts some unwelcome visitors. Mike Packer of the Poor Boys Hunting Club is carefully monitoring the situation at RB. The Settlege's cable has been cut by a bolt cutter and the Brinks lock at the back gate was destroyed. This was done between Nov 23rd and Nov 27th. If anyone observed details that will help identify the vandals/trespassers, please contact me. 

Deer Season Underway

Think Safety. Property owners should be aware that deer hunting season extends to January 1, 2013. Safe practice requires the wear of "blaze orange" outerwear. This requirement can be sufficed by the snap on bib available from WalMart or other stores. Cost is usually less than $5.
We currently have a contracted group, PoBoys Hunting Club. They have actively deterred trespassers and the amount of vandalism has dropped. As of Nov 17th they had bagged four deer among their group.We owe them the privacy they purchased with the lease.

Mike and Marihelen Stringham have decided to sell their parcel. Their asking price is under $60k and this is quite good for this area. 

Purple Paint Posting

New Landowner rules passed by the NC Legislature last year take full effect this fall. Click on the link and navigate to Landowner Protection for more information. This law allows arrests of trespassers on site and gives new liability protection to landowners. This picture is at my RiverBend property.







Note: the Poor Boys Hunting club has been very active preventing poaching and trespassing.

Carbonton Dam

A quick visit to the old Carbonton Dam site is a worthwhile trip. Riverbend is within a stone's throw of the old dam site. The dam was built in the 1920s and the power plant generated electricity for Progress Energy until 2004. The dam has now been taken down, restoring the Deep River to its original state. The Deep River Shiner, an endangered fish, is now making a comeback, the biggest environmental success story of the last decade. On the day I visited, the water was clear, fast flowing and about 4 feet deep.

While visiting the park you will be treated to two amazing historical posters. Did you know that the inspiration for the movie "The Patriot" is based nearby? Steamships once traveled the Deep River using a system of locks.

When the dam was removed to restore the natural river flow, an Indian fishing weir was exposed for the first time in 150 years. When you visit your Riverbend property take the 5 mile drive to the Carbonton Dam Park. You will be rewarded with a delightful trip. Just follow North Plank Road to Hwy 42 and turn right. The park is about 3 miles on the right.

New Back Gate Lock

Mike Packer has added a new lock to the back gate. This will restore access to the River for some owners and prevent access by trespassers. The key to the Master lock still works of course (see configuration) but no key is needed if you have the PW. Please contact me at the RB owners email address (or call) and I will give you the PW.

Mushrooms

Caesar's Amanita (Amanita caesarea)

Recent rains have encouraged our fungi friends to grow fast. These sprang up overnight. They are colorful and interesting photo subjects, but hazardous. Mushrooms are frequently poisonous. See this link.
And this one from NCSU.


There is a good website for identifying poisonous plants in NC at NCSU.

Riverbend Hikers

My grandchildren (all 7) were visiting from out of state and we took the occasion of a rare June cool snap (June 26th) to "discover" Riverbend. Everyone was tired after a morning of hiking that included identifying trees and birds and collecting stones for projects. They named some of the features on our property such as large trees, small creeks and trails. There were no tick bites. Note the long pants, light colored tucked in socks and duct tape securing the socks above the pants. It was a great day!

Landowner Protection Act of 2011

The Landowner Protection Act created important safeguards for rural property owners. It is helpful to be aware of these rules to protect your property and personal safety.

1. Posting of property can now be done with purple paint. Signs can be removed and vandalized. Paint generally cannot. Paint a vertical stripe at least 8 inches in length and 3-5 feet up from the base.
2. Wildlife officers can issue citations on site without going through the "process" rules related to trespassing laws.
3. Liability rules related to uninvited guests have been improved. However, we should still carry insurance.

During recent weeks I have been speaking with the manager of the "Poor Boys Hunting club." We will strengthen the back gate and increase access to owners. As we get closer to deer hunting season, we plan to erect a front gate with access to all owners and legal visitors. Please send in your ideas on these issues to Riverbend Owners.

Timber Solicitation

Many of us have recently received a call asking that we consider selling our timber. Most of the time I do not answer these calls because it seems to invite more calls. However, this time I answered. It was a company in Benson that is looking for pine timber to cut. They identified Riverbend Plantation from aerial photos and seemed very familiar with our land. I informed them that the entire area had strong restrictions on cutting timber.

BENSON TIMBER S - 19193592499

Notes on the timber industry. With the downturn in construction, one would think that prices offered for standing timber would be low, not so.  China is using its massive stockpile of US dollars to buy many types of "hard assets." These include residential real estate and timber among others. Globalization of timber is an amazing phenomenon.

Riverbend Parcels for Sale

Steve Lanning has two adjoining parcels for sale. These are both river front with a mixture of open space and woods.

Deep River Flow

The USGS Website monitors flow in the Deep River. Note the peaking of flow after the big rains recently. The Moncure station is close to Riverbend and reflects the depth near our properties. Click this link to monitor on a real time basis. Scroll down to Deep River and find the Moncure station.

TICKS

They're back! Ticks are active early this year due to the warm winter and an abundance of deer. My rules for preventing tick bites are:
    1. Light colored clothing - allows crawlers to be spotted early.
    2. Long pants - tucked into long light colored socks.
    3. DEET spray - most other preventives (avon products etc. do not work well).

Remove within 3 hours of a new bite. Pull slowly with tweezers to avoid mouth parts from being left in. WSJ had a terrific article on March 26th. Click here to view article.

Spring has sprung at Riverbend

Actually, maybe Summer has sprung. Dogwoods are near their peak bloom and many other flowering plants are blossoming. The abundance of bird life is particularly impressive. The birds of prey, hawks and owls, are very noisy near their nests. This is one of the best times of the year at RB.

The road repair from February is holding up so far but there are many additional problem areas further into the property.

Amazing Flower

I have seen this flower on previous hikes but this year it is very prevalent on the forest floor. It has been blooming for about 3 days now. Does anyone know what it is?

In this view, the blossoms are wide open.
Early in the day with low light and cool air,
the blossoms were contracted in a defensive appearance.
UPDATE: This flower is a "trout lily" or  Erythronium americanum. 

Riverbend Owners Meeting

The inaugural meeting of the Riverbend owners advisory group was held at the home of David and Charlotte Gremillion in Wake Forest. Eight members were in attendance for a lively and productive meeting. Minutes are being reviewed by those in attendance and will be distributed to all owners soon.

Road Repairs

The recent rains and high traffic have taken a serious toll on our main road. Heavy trucks increase the damage. The risk to owners and trespassers has increased significantly. One pothole shown at top, was knee deep after recent rains. I decided that the progressive damage must be fixed and I contracted with Ricky Tillman to fix the 4 worst potholes. Quite an amazing result for a surprisingly small cost. The pictures above were taken on Tuesday Feb 14th. He also repaired three additional potholes further down the road. Several areas of serious damage remain further into the property. Ricky operates a grading and road repair business out of Gulf and can be reached at 919-898-4924 or 919-353-7569. His rates are very reasonable and his work is excellent.