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Faces of Conservation
Bob Gordon, Chairman of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund

Robert Gordon, Chairman of NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund
Bob Gordon, chairman of the
NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund © TNC

There are many ways to describe Bob Gordon of Laurinburg. He is a successful attorney, has served on the board of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Conservancy’s North Carolina Chapter, and is a member of the Lumber River Conservancy and chairman of the state’s Natural Heritage Trust Fund.

But perhaps the words that best describe him are the simplest: citizen, hunter and conservationist.

Gordon’s earliest memories are of time spent outdoors in Hamlet, NC. “My father and I hunted deer at the old North State Game Club in Bladen County and pursued quail in eastern North Carolina. Our time in the woods was very special to me, and shaped the way I thought about wildlife. When Governor Hunt was elected, I spoke with him about the role of the Wildlife Resources Commission. I suppose he appreciated my thoughts, because I served as chairman of the Commission during his first two terms.”

Gordon thinks big when it comes to conservation. Among the successes during his tenure with the Wildlife Resources Commission were the creation of The NC Wildlife Endowment Fund and of the Waterfowl Conservation Stamp and Print program, as well as projects that restored habitat for bobwhite quail and non-game species. 

While serving on The Nature Conservancy’s board in the 1980s, Gordon helped with conservation efforts on the Roanoke River and at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge—which together protected nearly 330,000 acres.

Now, as chairman of the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, Gordon is charged to protect land with outstanding natural or cultural heritage value. The organization will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2007, providing Gordon a perfect opportunity to look forward while reflecting on the North Carolina of his childhood. The Trust Fund has helped protect 238,000 acres of land and provided $169 million in grants. But even that is not enough.

“North Carolina has changed drastically during my lifetime,” says Gordon. “We are losing land at an incredible pace. Despite great successes, we’re in danger of losing the battle because none of us—not the state, not private organizations—has the funding to keep pace with the rising cost of conservation. One solution is Land for Tomorrow, which seeks to increase the amount of funds available for conservation in North Carolina.”

Thanks to Bob Gordon’s personal commitment and dedication to the state’s natural resources, future generations of North Carolinians—including his children, Ellen and Stewart, and grandchildren, Rob and Emma Claire—can enjoy open spaces as he did as a child.