Walter Clark
Walter Clark and his partner, Johnny Burleson, own and operate the Old Orchard Creek General Store and the Old Orchard Creek Blueberry farm in Lansing, NC. From 2017 until 2020 Walter served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and the Division of Land and Water Stewardship, both a part of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. From 2010 to 2017 Walter served as the Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Conservancy. Before coming to that position, he was the Executive Director of Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust (BRRLT) where he was instrumental in overseeing the merger of BRRLT with High Country Conservancy resulting in the new Blue Ridge Conservancy. Walter has a long history of environmental education, policy, and management. Before beginning his tenure in land conservation, he directed the legal program for North Carolina Sea Grant at North Carolina State University. While there, he co-founded the University of North Carolina’s Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center. Walter has a Masters in Regional Planning from UNC, Chapel Hill and a JD from Wake Forest University.
