The Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) recently purchased a property that adjoins the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 446.  The tract contains a portion of Bear Creek in the headwaters of North Fork Scott Creek in Jackson County. 

The property is completely forested and contains a beautiful cascading section of Bear Creek.  Protection of the property will preserve views from the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway (including the Woodfin Cascades Overlook) and will provide a natural buffer to the Hi-Mountain subdivision.  The property contains a portion of the Woodfin Falls Significant Natural Heritage Area and is in close proximity to the 6,000⁺-acre complex of lands within the proposed Waterrock Knob/Plott-Balsams Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“Safeguarding these 31 acres of sensitive high elevation habitat is another impressive CTNC accomplishment,” said Monika Mayr, Acting Superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  “Each time buffer land is added to the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor, we assure millions of visitors will continue to enjoy a spectacular, unspoiled landscape.  This acquisition is essential not only to protect the views but to connect wildlife habitat and critical natural ecosystems for local populations of black bear, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, and northern flying squirrels.”

“This tract is near a particularly beautiful section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, so we are delighted that CTNC has acquired it to protect the views forever,” said Kate Dixon, Executive Director of Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

CTNC purchased the property on May 23, 2013, for $215,000 from Greer State Bank in South Carolina with the intention of conveying the property to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Blue Ridge Parkway’s official boundary. David McCammon, a representative of Greer State Bank stated, “We appreciate CTNC’s goals and objectives. In most cases, land we sell is almost immediately modified in some way. We are glad to be able to further CTNC’s efforts for preservation. I spend a good bit of time outdoors, particularly in western NC and upstate SC, so nature preservation is an important personal goal as well.”

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (http://www.appalachian.org/), a local land trust based in Asheville, also works to conserve land along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Jackson County.

CTNC and the Asheville City Council have come to a final agreement on a new conservation easement that strengthens protections for the city’s drinking water supply watershed. Recorded on January 28, the “new and improved” easement replaces one that had been in effect since 1996. (The easement is a permanent legal agreement that restricts activities on the property that could degrade water quality, forest health, wildlife habitat, or scenic views from the Blue Ridge Parkway).

Asheville’s North Fork Reservoir and Bee Tree Reservoir are fed by creeks and streams trickling down more than 17,000 forested acres in the Black Mountains.

The Asheville City Council had unanimously approved a new draft easement on December 11, 2012, and the parties worked diligently since then to complete a final document. CTNC will hold the easement, and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC), the local land trust based in Asheville, will serve as the “backup holder” should that become necessary.

The easement’s top priority is to care for the land to ensure high water quality in the streams and reservoirs.  A key new provision is that commercial logging is prohibited on the property.  The agreement calls for a forest stewardship plan to guide activities that will maintain forest health and wildlife habitat.  And, the easement ensures that spectacular views of the watershed along fifteen miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway will remain unspoiled. 

The agreement was reached amid the backdrop of great controversy and uncertainty regarding future ownership and management of Asheville’s water system.  Members of the General Assembly are writing a bill that would transfer authority from the city to the Metropolitan Sewerage District.  The fate of that legislation remains to be determined.

“The new agreement guarantees that no matter who is in charge of Asheville’s water supply in the future, stronger protections for water quality, forest health, wildlife habitat, and scenic views will be locked into place forever,” said Reid Wilson, CTNC executive director.

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy was a crucial partner throughout the redrafting of the agreement. “When the original easement was put into place in 1996, it was state-of-the-art. However, in the years since then, we’ve learned a great deal about how to strengthen such agreements so that they withstand the test of time. It was wise for the parties to take action to strengthen the protections for the watershed,” said Carl Silverstein, SAHC executive director.

“It was nearly 100 years ago that Asheville’s leaders began acquiring lands in the watershed,” said Marc Hunt, a member of the Asheville City Council. “They knew that protecting the land that feeds the water supply was critical to public health and economic growth.  Approval of stronger permanent protections will build on that legacy and will ensure safe and plentiful drinking water for generations to come.”

CTNC recently purchased a property that contains an important portion of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVT) near Spruce Pine and the Orchard at Altapass, and which is highly visible from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The 128-acre property in McDowell County is located at the Heffner Gap Overlook (Parkway milepost 326) and is visible from both the Heffner Gap and Bear Den overlooks. The tract lies between two other properties that CTNC previously protected: the 1,488-acre CSX conservation easement and the 534-acre Rose Creek/OVT Natural Area, which is now managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as a state game land.

The tract contains a short but critical section of the OVT that links nearly 1.6 miles of the Trail on the CSX easement with a 1.3-mile section on the Rose Creek property. The OVT traces the route taken by colonial militia to the pivotal battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolution.

National Park Service (NPS) Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Superintendent Paul Carson said, “CTNC’s protection of this property will open up a new section of the trail for public use and we look forward to working with CTNC and the Blue Ridge Parkway to extend the trail for public enjoyment. It is especially exciting because so much of the surrounding landscape and views from the trail will remain as they were at the time the patriots traveled this route.”

Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis added, “Stunning views from the Heffner Gap and Bear Den Overlooks will remain unspoiled because this property was conserved. It’s especially important since the tract is so close to the Parkway boundary.”

“Protecting this property will provide multiple benefits for generations to come,” said Reid Wilson, CTNC executive director. “Beautiful views from two Parkway overlooks are preserved, a portion of the Overmountain Victory Trail will connect two longer sections on either side for hikers, and the forest and wildlife habitat will remain healthy.”

CTNC purchased the property on December 21, 2012, for $700,000 from John & Anna Watson of Atlanta, GA with a $544,000 grant from the NC Department of Transportation’s Scenic Byways Program as well as funds from the NC Environmental Enhancement Grants Program and Fred & Alice Stanback of Salisbury.

CTNC anticipates transferring the property to the National Park Service to be incorporated within the official boundaries of the Blue Ridge Parkway unit and dedicated as an official section of the NPS Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. The OVT will soon be open on the Heffner Gap tract.

After 11 years, the National Park Service (NPS) and the Town of Blowing Rock have completed an important land exchange that adds 192 pristine forested acres to the Parkway’s official boundary. In return, Blowing Rock received from NPS a 20-acre property that contains the town’s drinking water reservoir.

In 2001, CTNC kicked off the process by purchasing the 192-acre Johns River Gorge property before a developer could implement plans to build homes there. The tract, adjacent to Moses Cone Park and US Forest Service lands, contains healthy forests and wildlife habitat, and a beautiful hiking trail along the pristine waters of China Creek. (The trail will be available for public use).

The town of Blowing Rock and CTNC worked together to secure a grant from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund so that the town could purchase the property from CTNC in 2003. Since then, NPS and Blowing Rock have been working together to trade the properties. Federal land exchanges require congressional approval, and in 2010 President Obama signed into law the bill that both houses passed.

This is a huge win for the forest, creek, and trails. Thank you to all of you who communicated with your congressional offices and/or submitted supportive comments to the National Park Service.

In August, CTNC approved 16 grants to 15 land trusts for a total of $127,000. Land trusts will use the grants to protect more land and engage a broader cross-section of the public in their work. The funded projects focus on four strategic areas: reconnecting children with nature; opening more protected lands for public enjoyment; working with ethnically and economically diverse communities; and protecting foreclosed properties that have high conservation value.

CTNC originally received funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation as part of a two-year, $310,000 grant to help land trusts conserve more land and expand outreach. ZSR is a longstanding generous supporter of land conservation. CTNC manages the grant on behalf of the land trusts.

Two of the grant-winning projects are:

The NC Coastal Land Trust received $15,000 to make available to the City of Wilmington’s Parks and Recreation Department a 39-acre tract over which it holds a conservation easement and management rights. The property is located in the heart of Wilmington, adjoins Alderman Elementary School, and is close to the Gary Shell Cross-City Trail. The property includes wetlands and pinelands and is home to the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden that hosts a profusion of venus flytraps, pitcher plants, and sundews. The Garden is the site of the “Flytrap Frolic,” NCCLT’s children’s environmental education event. The partners plan to develop the entire tract as a nature preserve with a network of nature trails, elevated boardwalks, and a connection to the Cross-City Trail, and to greatly expand the number of children who visit this special place.

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) received $15,000 to initiate its Community Farm & Food Project – Access to Land, Livelihood, and Learning, at a 100-acre farm in Buncombe County recently donated to the organization. SAHC will use the grant to create: an agricultural business incubator for new and beginning farmers; an agriculture-based job and life skills training site for citizens of underprivileged communities; an agricultural and environmental education center for youth and young adults; and a public, interpretive trail.

In the last eight years, CTNC has passed through more than $10 million in such grants from foundations and government agencies to local land trusts.

Vistas, Forest, Water Quality Preserved Forever

CTNC purchased a 34-acre forested property along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville. We intend to convey the Big Cove Ridge property to the National Park Service (NPS) for inclusion in the Parkway’s official boundary.

Big Cove Ridge, between Mileposts 439 and 440, connects two properties that CTNC previously protected and conveyed to NPS (Cove Field Ridge, 87 acres, and Richland Creek Headwaters, 110 acres).

All three properties are highly visible from several Parkway vantage points including the Cove Field Ridge Overlook. The property contains headwaters of Richland Creek, which flows through the Town of Waynesville (along the Waynesville Greenway) and into Lake Junaluska less than seven miles downstream.

The three properties are part of a growing landscape of protected land in the area. They lie between the 8,030-acre Waynesville municipal watershed to the south (protected by CTNC, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, and NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund), and the proposed Plott-Balsam/Waterrock Knob park to the north.

“If Big Cove Ridge was developed, it would mar the scenic views from nearby overlooks,” said Phil Francis, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent. “We appreciate the Conservation Trust for North Carolina stepping in to protect this wonderful property in its natural, forested state.”

“The more pristine we can keep our mountains, the better it will be for all of us and for generations to come,” said Phil Ferguson, one of the family members who made the charitable sale to CTNC.

“The protection of Big Cove Ridge will ensure the integrity of the vistas in this stretch of the Parkway, protect water quality in Richland Creek, and contribute to the growing tourism economy in Haywood County,” said Reid Wilson, CTNC Executive Director.