Another Epic Games co-founder gets in on the land conservation game in NC

Epic Games CEO and co-founder Tim Sweeney has become one of the largest private landowners in the North Carolina, with an eye toward preserving thousands of acres from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Southeastern North Carolina coast.

Mark Rein, who co-founded the Cary-based company with Sweeney in 1991, is following Sweeney’s example.

Rein has donated dozens of acres of land in southern Granville County to the Tar River Land Conservancy, an organization that protects land bordering the Tar River and its many tributaries.

Rein, who recently became the Triangle’s newest billionaire thanks to his 4% ownership of Epic, also is donating a unspecified but sizable chunk of money to the organization.

The organization, one of 23 land trusts in the state, declined to identify the amount Rein donated. But board member Boyd Sturges said it is one of the largest gifts Tar River Land Conservancy has ever received.

Derek Halberg, executive director of the conservancy, added that the gift is large enough to allow it to conserve “another couple hundred acres” of land of its choosing.

Rein, via a spokesperson at Epic, declined to comment about the donation.

A new nature preserve

The gifted land includes 83 acres along Smith Creek near the town of Creedmoor. The property borders a 148-acre tract of land owned by the land conservancy, and the organization plans to join them together into one tract.

The combined property would be named Horseshoe Road Nature Preserve, with the hopes of opening two miles of trails for public use. The trails could be completed sometime next year, the land trust said.

Smith Creek, which runs through the land, is a tributary of Beaver Dam Lake and Falls Lake, the main source of drinking water for the City of Raleigh and several other communities.

Halberg said his organization got in touch with Rein and wife, Tara Dow-Rein, while it was reaching out to land owners around Falls Lake and the Wake County line.

The Reins, who are horse enthusiasts, own a large amount of land in the area and were receptive to the land conservancy’s pitch, Halberg said.

“They have become very supportive of the work we are doing,” Halberg said, “The land helps protect drinking water for those who rely on Falls Lake.”

Halberg noted the Triangle’s fast-paced growth makes conservation around Falls Lake urgent.

“What happens in Falls Lake has great impacts on prices and accessibility of water in the Triangle area,” he said.

“As more people come to the Raleigh-Durham area, that growth is going to spill closer to the lake,” he said.

That could lead to the construction of more neighborhoods and shopping centers. If those are built in flood plains near streams and rivers, it could “reduce the quality of water the Triangle is expecting to have.”

Beyond its buffering of Smith Creek — the Rein’s property has 0.6 miles of frontage on the creek — the land is home to a hardwood and pine forest and marshy wetlands that are home to a colony of great blue heron.

Epic Games lawsuit

Meanwhile, Sweeney has conveyed tens of thousands of acres of land for protection. In April, Sweeney donated 7,500 acres of land in the Roan Highlands to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, The News & Observer reported.

That same month, Sweeney also conserved Hutaff Island, a two-mile stretch of barrier island between Topsail and Figure 8 islands, on the North Carolina coast, The N&O reported.

Epic is a $29 billion juggernaut in the video game world and is currently embroiled in a trial with Apple, having sued the tech giant for removing its video game Fortnite from the App store.

Financial documents released as part of the lawsuit show Epic made $5.1 billion in 2020, The News & Observer reported.

In the lawsuit against Apple, Epic’s contention remains that apps should be able to provide their own payment systems and avoid the App Store altogether. Apple says this will undermine the security of all of its phones.

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate