The original June 30 closure deadline for the N.C. State University’s $150 million sale of the Hofmann Forest in Onslow and Jones counties now appears very doubtful.
Mike Kulikowski, a spokesman for NCSU, said Thursday that, “A closing date has not yet been set,” and opponents of the sale are doubling down on public relations efforts and remain hopeful that their legal effort will stop the sale altogether, at least temporarily.
The school last year announced plans to sell the 79,000-acre forest, which is used for research and a limited amount of timber harvesting and sales, to Hofmann Forest LLC, an Illinois-based agricultural concern headed by Jerry Walker of the Walker Ag Group in Illinois. The opponents, mainly a coalition of environmentalists and foresters, cite potential damage to the ecosystem if the land is converted to agricultural use or developed for commercial or residential uses.
The university and the buyer have said there are no plans for those uses, but opponents have cited a “buyer’s prospective” that specifically mentions them.
Dr. Ron Sutherland, a conservation scientist at Wildlands Network and one of the leaders of the campaign to save Hofmann Forest, said Thursday that more than 2,000 people had taken part in an email campaign that has resulted in more than 46,000 total emails sent to NCSU Board of Trustees members and school administrators in the past several weeks.
From the Tideland News: https://www.carolinacoastonline.com/tideland_news/news/article_8d2172d2-fc70-11e3-b0b8-001a4bcf887a.html