§ 143B-135.59.  (Effective December 31, 2024) State Parks System native plant requirement and preference.

In consultation with university system and community college horticulture programs and the North Carolina Forestry Association, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources shall require the use of seeds and plants the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified as native to a state or county in the Southeastern United States, including cultivars and varieties thereof that were not bred to have reduced reproductive structures, with a strong preference for plants the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified as native to North Carolina, on all lands that are part of the State Parks System as defined in G.S. 143B-135.44. Exempt from this requirement are (i) nonnative seeds and plants used in landscaping for locations where the primary purpose is crop cultivation, crop and horticulture research, science, botanical gardens, plantings for wildlife by the Wildlife Resources Commission, and zoos and (ii) nonnative turf grass. For purposes of this section, the Southeastern United States means the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and the following counties in Florida: Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington. (2023-134, s. 41.8(b).)