Staff report

The LandTrust for Central North Carolina has named Sam Parrott as its new membership and outreach associate and Cody Fulk as the new stewardship director.

The LandTrust, headquartered in Salisbury, has conserved more than 25,000 acres in 10 central North Carolina counties.

“We are incredibly excited and fortunate to have both new staff members on the LandTrust team,” said Executive Director Travis Morehead. “Sam is an outstanding young man who is passionate about working in the conservation field. He has already made significant contributions in our youth and sportsmen outreach efforts. Cody comes to the LandTrust with an incredible resume and real-world conservation experience. His knowledge of our region and land management experience will be invaluable as we move forward in our conservation efforts.”

Parrott grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and attended his hometown university, Wofford College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and business in 2015. Before joining LandTrust in January, Parrott worked with conservation organizations in the High Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and the Piedmont region of South Carolina.

“As a millennial born into a highly urbanized and technology-based culture, I was fortunate to have mentors who introduced me to the outdoors at a young age,” Parrott said. “I quickly fell in love with the Piedmont’s wild places and, as my passion for the natural world grew, so did my desire to conserve it.”

Fulk was born and raised in Yadkinville. A graduate of Haywood Community College, he earned his degree in fisheries and wildlife management in 2010. Over the course of his career, Fulk led teams on whitetail deer and alligator research projects in both Tennessee and Louisiana. Fulk also worked with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks access programs and led a sage grouse research team for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Most recently, Fulk was the team leader for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Troy Depot, where he oversaw the management of game lands along the Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed.

“It has been my careerlong objective to further conservation throughout the U.S. and locally here in N.C.” Fulk said. “My goal as stewardship director will be to implement sound wildlife and habitat management practices to conserve these natural areas, while providing assistance as well as technical guidance to stakeholders in the Piedmont of North Carolina.”

The LandTrust for Central North Carolina works with private landowners and public agencies to conserve natural, scenic, agricultural and historic places in a 10-county region of the central Piedmont.

For more information about LandTrust, call 704-647-0302, email alicia@landtrustcnc.org, or visit the website www.landtrustcnc.org.