Protected areas of North Carolina

The protected areas of North Carolina cover roughly 3.8 million acres, making up 11% of the total land in the state.^[1] 86.5% of this protected land is publicly owned and is managed by different federal and state level authorities and receive varying levels of protection.^[1] Some areas are managed as wilderness while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation.^[1] The remainder of the land is privately owned, but willingly entered into conservation easement management agreements, or are owned by various nonprofit conservation groups such as the National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy.^[1] North Carolina contains 1 National Park, and various other federally owned protected land including 2 National Seashores, 5 National Forests, 12 Wildlife Refuges, and the southern half of the Blue Ridge Parkway. North Carolina has an extensive state park system of 42 open units, 35 of which are state parks, 4 that are recreation areas, and 3 staffed state natural areas, along with other designated units managed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.^[2]

Federal-level protection agencies

North Carolina's federally protected areas are managed by agencies within the United States Department of the Interior. The agencies which govern nationally protected places in North Carolina are the National Park Service; the U.S. Forest Service; the Bureau of Land Management; and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

National Parks

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

National Historic Sites

National Trails System

National Seashores

National Marine Sanctuary

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

National Estuarine Research Reserve

National Forests

Cullusaja Falls in Nantahala National Forest

National Wildlife Refuges

National Wilderness

Wilderness Study Areas

National Wild and Scenic Rivers

State-level protection agencies

Out of North Carolina's protected land, 250,000 acres of land and water is managed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.^[3] These areas include State Parks, State Recreation Areas, State Natural Areas, State Lakes, State Trails, State Rivers, State Forests, Educational State Forests, State Historic Sites, and NC Coastal Reserves.