Three of Vulcan Materials quarries in North Carolina have earned Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Certification for wildlife habitat.
The Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education.
Vulcan Materials' Gold Hill Quarry, Hendersonville Quarry and Pineville Quarry were each recognized for their voluntary land management work to support wildlife habitats.
Gold Hill Quarry encompasses 400 acres in Gold Hill, a community located about an hour northeast of Charlotte. The site boasts a wetland area and unique habitat for avian wildlife that native osprey, wood ducks and eastern bluebirds use as migratory stopovers and breeding grounds.
The Hendersonville Quarry has a long-established wildlife program that was first certified in 1995 by the Wildlife Habitat Council, and added an educational component to it in 2001. The 30-acre forest on the Hendersonville quarry, about 25 miles south of Asheville, is home to native plants and a variety of wildlife. Nature trails and staff-guided tours, along with a 1,200-square-foot learning center, help illustrate the connection between the industry and the environment to the quarry’s visitors.
Pineville Quarry, which takes up about 300 acres in Charlotte, has maintained a habitat certification since 1993. Over 50 acres of the site are managed for active habitat projects such as a butterfly pollinator garden, bluebird and other songbird and avian habitats. The site also includes grasslands, floodplain forest and wetlands – essential features in the city’s rapidly-growing urban neighborhoods.
