Lands protected in WNC
The Fairview Valley stretches out below Stony Point. Donated photo
From mountains to coast, a cadre of land conservation agencies is working to preserve the properties most important to North Carolina’s beauty and environmental health. Two of these agencies are celebrating recent acquisitions in Madison, Buncombe and McDowell Counties.
• A 541-acre forested property in Madison County is now protected with a conservation easement following a collaborative project with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the Town of Marshall. The property filters miles of clean mountain streams that once provided drinking water to town residents. The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund awarded SAHC a grant that allowed it to purchase a conservation easement from the town.
• A pair of purchases in the Fairview area will protect 155 acres at Strawberry Gap and 15 acres at Stony Gap. The Strawberry Gap purchase will protect views from Blue Ridge Pastures on the Buncombe/Henderson County boundary just north of Hickory Nut Gorge and Chimney Rock, adding to an existing network of protected land. The Stony Point tract, which forms a rocky bluff with an incredible view of the Fairview valley, will fill a gap within a contiguous network of conservation lands. The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased both tracts with funding from Fred and Alice Stanback and a grant from the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.
• North Carolina State Parks received 90 acres near Old Fort in McDowell County following a transfer from the Foothills Conservancy. The Foothills Conservancy purchased the land from Melanie Goodson, ensuring the protection of scenic views along Old Highway 70 and water quality for two high-quality streams. Camp Grier and Dan and Denisa Allison are donating trail easements across parts of their land to allow public use of the Fonta Flora State Trail in the near future.
