Governor Proclaims North Carolina Native Plant Month 2024

NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE PLANT MONTH

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, native plants are indigenous species that have evolved alongside native wildlife and occur naturally in a particular geographic region, ecosystem, and habitat and are essential for healthy, diverse, and sustainable ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, native plants are well-adapted to North Carolina’s soils, temperatures, precipitation, and environmental conditions, making them the best option for conserving and protecting our environment and adapting to its changes; and

WHEREAS, native plants provide food, including nectar, pollen, seeds, and foliage, for native birds, caterpillars, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife in ways that non-native plants cannot; and

WHEREAS, North Carolina is home to more than 3,900 native plant species, which include large shade trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, grasses, and wildflowers; and

WHEREAS, 45 of North Carolina’s rarest plants are federally listed as At Risk, Threatened, or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program currently lists 462 plant species as Endangered, Threatened, Special Concern-Vulnerable, or Special Concern-Historical; and

WHEREAS, on February 12, 2024, I signed Executive Order No. 305, “An Order to Protect and Restore North Carolina’s Critical Natural and Working Lands”, which set bold goals and policies to protect, promote, and restore North Carolina’s forests and wetlands, including native plants; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 305 established a native plant policy for North Carolina State Government by directing cabinet agencies to only use seeds and plants that are native to the Southeastern United States, with a strong preference for plants native to North Carolina for landscaping on State-owned property;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April, 2024, as “NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE PLANT MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

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Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-seventh day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.