Video Game Company Founder Donates $15 Million To Protect 7,000 Acres Of North Carolina Wilderness

November 10, 2016

Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney has reportedly paid $15 million to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to permanently protect 7,000 acres of undeveloped land in his home state of North Carolina.

video game founder donates 15 million to North Carolina

This donation, earmarked as a "conservation easement" (which typically require landowners to forfeit the right to develop, subdivide, or otherwise interfere with the preservation of a natural landscape), is a nice example of how a successful member of the game industry might invest some of their wealth in a way that benefits others.

“It's still in private ownership but the easement ensures it can never be developed," Sweeney told The Citizen-Times. "It's not open to anyone in the public at any time, but people can email and get a permission card and go and enjoy it."

The region Sweeney has invested in is known as the Box Creek Wilderness; several years ago it came under threat of being subdivided to make room for the Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation to construct power lines, but Sweeney (who previously owned a smaller swath of the land) fought back in court.

This isn't the first time he's done this, either. Outside of his place in the game industry, Sweeney is recognized as something of a conservationist in North Carolina; the Epic Games chief reportedly began buying up land in 2008 and now owns roughly 40,000 acres in the state, some of which he has previously donated for conservation.


Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz

feel good videoLittle Girl Runs Across The Street By Herself. What Happens Next Brings People To Tears

feel good storiesScience Confirms It: Your Dog Wants One Thing Before You Leave

feel good storiesAaron, Given Just 3 Years To Live, Celebrates His 27th Birthday In Style

feel good storiesScientists Create Adorable 'Woolly Mice' In Their Quest To Revive The Mammoth

feel good storiesCat Goes Viral For Wild Adventures: From Hotel Check-Ins, To Vape Runs And Pub Crawls

feel good storiesCrytocoinminer Redefines Cloud Mining In The Simplest Way

feel good videoLittle Girl Runs Across The Street By Herself. What Happens Next Brings People To Tears

feel good video4-Year-Old Sings 'We Will Rock You' With So Much Passion

feel good videoCouple Turns Home Depot Shed Into The Most Beautiful Home

feel good videoWhen Iron Man Has The Coolest Moves At The Talent Show

feel good videoLawn And Order: Cops Stop To Investigate This Dad's Lawn