Mast General Store donated $24,700 to land trusts last month to help preserve and protect important farm and forest land tracts in the region.

Every year, Mast General Store donates 20 percent of its sales on Land Trust Day to local land trusts, citing a direct connection between the business’ success and land conservation.

“We’re in a business that caters to both local folks and tourists,” said John Cooper, president of the Mast General Store, headquartered in Valle Crucis. “The tourists come to our area because of the beauty and special-ness of the place, and what our conservation easements do is preserve special places.”

Proceeds from two of Mast General Store’s six locations — including Waynesville, Asheville and Hendersonville — went to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy for a total of $6,800.

SAHC Executive Director Carl Silverstein said that Mast General Store sets a good model for other local merchants.

“Their business has been part of the community in Western North Carolina for so many generations,” Silverstein said. “For them to be behind conservation is a powerful message to the public.”

On Land Trust Day, Mast General Store provided space for the land trusts to set up information tables, drawing new members to the organization as well as landowners interested in protecting their land.

Conservation easements allow private landowners to continue to own, use and enjoy their land, while assuring their property will never be developed when ownership changes.

“Our work seems to be largely unknown by the public even though the views are enjoyed by so many,” Silverstein said. “The fact that land trusts are working quietly to protect those views, the majority of the public doesn’t realize.”

Since 1974, SAHC and its 1,500 members have protected 28,800 acres, including key sites adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in the Highlands of Roan. Its headquarters is in Asheville.

“I feel so blessed that there are land trusts in each of the areas our stores are located,” Cooper said. “It says a lot about the future economic viability of these areas.”