NP&L’s dam plan falls through

Nantahala Power and Light acquired most of the property from Tallassee Power in 1931. NP&L continued buying property through 1958 as a potential reservoir for hydroelectric power plant and dam. The plant, however, was never constructed.

While none of the land was condemned and eminent domain was never invoked, some Needmore residents have said original property owners had little choice. Swain County resident Roy Parton, who owns land adjacent to Needmore, told a group at a Mountain Neighbors for Needmore Preservation meeting that former Needmore property owners were told if they didn’t sell their property it would be under water.

“From what I heard as a little girl growing up, some of the people willingly sold their land because it seemed like a lot of money, and some felt they were forced to sell,” said Cheryl Taylor, a Needmore area resident and founder of Mountain Neighbors for Needmore Preservation.

As fate would have it, this controversial acquisition of acreage for a proposed utility project may be the only reason there is a Needmore tract today. While more and more available property in Macon and Swain counties has been developed, the Needmore tract under NP&L remained a mosaic of leased pastures, farms and riparian and mountain forests with nearly unlimited public access.

In 1998 Duke Energy acquired NP&L. In December of 1999, the Needmore tract was transferred to Crescent Resources LLC. Crescent, created 30 years ago by Duke, is a land management and real estate development company with holdings in eight states across the southern U.S. When Crescent acquired the property, they invited The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to work with them to help create a long-term management plan for Needmore.

A long time coming

For most of the public, this shift of ownership to Crescent and the inclusion of TNC brought Needmore to their attention. But for a few dedicated conservationists, the public attention that suddenly was focused on the tract was itself a culmination of years of hard work.

“I suppose Columbus had to hear about Lief Ericson,” said Bill McLarney, a local fisheries biologist and one of those dedicated conservationists.

McLarney said the real beginning of a movement to preserve Needmore and the portion of the Little Tennessee that runs through it began in 1990. That is when the Tennessee Valley Authority selected the site for one of its biomonitoring stations.

“A lot of the biological justification for the protection of Needmore grew out of that data,” McLarney said.

He said the preservation of Needmore was one of the topics discussed during a two-day watershed conference in 1993, sponsored by the town of Franklin, Western North Carolina Alliance and TVA.

“Attendees included Ed Tucker [NP&L president] and Fish and Wildlife,” McLarney said.

McLarney said a group of local and regional organizations had been working for years, gathering data, making contacts and raising money in an effort to preserve the tract. According to McLarney this coalition had scheduled a Jan. 4, 2000, meeting with NP&L executives to present a plan for the area and ask for an option to purchase the property.

“But on Dec. 23 [1999], NP&L (a Duke Energy subsidiary) threw us a curve by transferring the Needmore Tract to Crescent Resources (Duke’s real estate arm). Crescent immediately approached the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) about preparing a conservation plan...,” McLarney wrote in an email to the Native Fish Conservancy seeking support for the preservation of Needmore.

With TNC onboard, Crescent began meeting with local governments, environmental organizations and area residents early in 2000 to study potential land uses. A two-year time frame was announced when the process began, but with the complicated negotiations that grew to nearly three years. Este Stifel, project coordinator for TNC, said TNC and Duke Energy have a history of working together in the region.

“We worked with Duke Energy on the Panthertown tract [in southern Jackson County] and Gorges State Park. We have a good track record and Duke wanted us in,” Stifel said.

“Everything was on the table at the beginning, from total conservation to total development. We both knew where the other party stood,” she said.

Arriving at a price

There was some sticker shock associated with the $19 million price but Stifel and Mike Horak, associate director of philanthropy for TNC, are confident that the price is fair market value.

“Appraisal is not a science. We are confident regarding the appraisals,” Stifel said.

“Of course, we asked them to donate it, but the reality is Crescent is bound by corporate policy to get fair market value for any assets they dispose of,” Stifel said.

Stifel said there were three appraisals of the contiguous tract and one of the separate parcels. Chad Gutherie of the state property office said his department reviewed the appraisals and conferred with TNC and they “accepted a value based on those appraisals.”

Stifel said TNC expects to have a signed contract by the end of December.

“This is a good deal for Crescent. They knew they had a tract with a lot of ecological significance. That’s why they invited us in. They are getting fair market value. They don’t want to see this deal go south,” Stifel said.

Some of the keys that made the acquisition possible, according to Stifel, were the resolutions from Macon and Swain county governments supporting the preservation, the work of Bill Gibson, executive director of the Southwestern Commission on behalf of Macon and Swain counties, the involvement of organizations like the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, the Western North Carolina Alliance, and the Mountain Neighbors for Needmore Preservation, and the willingness of North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commissions to manage the property.

“The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee is excited that the local vision for the Needmore tract has taken a giant step forward. The consensus that has been clearly stated by local governments, sportsmen, conservation organizations, and rural citizens has been for Needmore to be acquired by the State of North Carolina for management by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission,” said Paul Carlson, LTLT executive director. “LTLT is proud to have played a pivotal role in elevating this project to the state’s highest land conservation priority. LTLT looks forward to continuing to work with state and local interests to conserve the extraordinary natural and cultural resources present on this magnificent property, in a way that respects the traditional uses of the land.”

Tradition intact

“I am relieved that development is out of the question. My group is very pleased that there will be a plan that preserves traditional uses,” Cheryl Taylor founder of Mountain Neighbors to Preserve Needmore said.

The letter of intent and the impending contract are a big hurdle, but Stifel and Horak caution that there is still a lot of work to be done. There is that $19 million price tag.

Wildlife Resources has applied for a $13.3 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund and has already received $2 million from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Lisa Schell of CWMTF said the organization is aware of the priority N.C. Wildlife Resources has placed on the tract and is anxious to review the application. Bill Holman, executive director of CWMTF, said back in June 2001 at one of the Needmore public meetings that the tract was a top priority for the trust. The first review will not occur until February, Schell said.

Richard Hamilton, deputy director of N.C. Wildlife Resources, said that funding might also be available from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund and the N.C. Department of Transportation. Hamilton said he is confident TNC will be able to secure the funding.

“I think there is a lot of local support and the wildlife commission has been identified to manage the tract because of our ability to recognize traditional uses and manage for wildlife and timber,” he said.

Horak said it is critical that groups like LTLT continue to help with the effort to preserve Needmore.

“We need their help to keep the public fully involved. The key to making this a good public-private partnership is to find a way to generate private dollars,” Horak said.

“This tract will continue to be a legacy to the wild aspect of Western North Carolina.”

McLarney said Needmore was the only project of its kind that he has seen that never met any formal opposition.

“That tells me something. We had bear hunters, paddlers, farmers and politicians all working together. There was a groundswell of support for this project. There was a lot of hard work by the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, the Little Tennessee Land Trust, Western North Carolina Alliance, the Southwestern Commission and a lot of individuals writing letters and attending meetings that paved the way for The Nature Conservancy and this outcome,” he said.

Crescent would not answer any questions regarding Needmore. They issued this brief statement: “Crescent began working with the North Carolina Chapter of the Nature Conservancy in 2000 to research and discuss future uses for the property. We met with local governments, environmental organizations and individuals throughout the process. It was a careful, thoughtful process that considered all possible options.

“We fully appreciate the extensive input we received from interested individuals and groups,” read the statement.