About Bolin Forest Climate Action

Who we are:  A group of concerned citizens dedicated to the science/research for taking climate action to protect our tree canopy, save our riparian areas, ensure clean water, and meet our biodiversity crisis. This website is part of Friends of Bolin Creek initiative.

We need your help!  Bolin Creek and Bolin Forest are threatened again! Your help is needed to preserve this area in Carrboro’s heart from blasting, pavement, and increased flooding.

Why?  Carrboro’s Town Council has decided again to consider building a concrete bikeway along Bolin Creek. Please check this website for developments as they happen.

Where?  Bolin Creek (along with the adjoining Bolin Forest) represents a unique three-mile stretch from Estes Drive to Homestead Road, offering stunning beauty, great historical significance, important ecological value and much needed serenity as our area becomes more and more urban. See map.

What?  Carrboro’s Town Council has decided to re-open discussion of paving along Bolin Creek in this protected riparian area despite widespread community opposition in the past. A public-engagement process is currently being planned for this summer, to be concluded on Oct. 17, 2023. Some on Carrboro’s Town Council have argued for limiting close-by neighborhood participation despite the impact. This paved roadway through the forest goes back to 2009 when the Town of Carrboro included a paved bicycle route along Bolin Creek, instead of the existing nature trail, as part of its Bicycle Plan. Only a few members of the community were aware of this move. Town planning staff then contracted with a consultant to develop a concept plan for what would be a 10-foot-wide paved road, described as a “greenway transportation corridor.” Community response was swift and negative. As a result, the then-Board of Aldermen (BOA) tabled the idea until staff could bring forward a proposal for public engagement (now upon us). Meanwhile, Carrboro’s Greenways Commission, charged with considering the proposal, discussed it for a year and took the idea no further. The town Transportation Advisory Board has said a paved route along Bolin Creek is inappropriate for a transportation corridor. Carrboro’s 2020 Updated Bike Plan includes a rails-to-trails bike/ped route along the Norfolk Southern rail line, instead, after the UNC coal-fired plant closes, most likely to happen soon, given the plant’s age and a possible new EPA policy.

Our Forest is endangered.  Bolin Creek flows into Jordan Lake, water supply for more than a half million people.

• Bolin Creek and Bolin Forest have been called by former N.C. Botanical Garden Director Peter White “our Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
• Bolin Creek shelters hawks, owls, herons, woodpeckers, box turtles, deer, beavers, coyotes, numerous other birds, as well as the rare four-toed salamander.
• Bolin Forest protects us from further climate change by providing a wide stretch of tree canopy that acts as a significant carbon sink.

Make Your Voice Heard!  Here is what you can do.

• Sign the Keep Bolin Wild! petition now!
• Tell your friends, neighbors, family, and others about what’s at stake.
• Contact Carrboro’s Mayor and members of its Town Council.
• Attend Carrboro Town Council meetings on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. in Carrboro Town Hall and speak out.