Contact: Megan Riley, Blue Ridge Forever Coordinator, (828) 253-0095

‘MOUNTAINOUS' LAND PROTECTION IN 2006

CLEAN DRINKING WATER, WILDLIFE, FARMS AND SCENIC LANDSCAPES SAFEGUARDED IN THE SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE — FOREVER

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — 2006 was a big year for land conservation in Western North Carolina, according to the totals released today by Blue Ridge Forever, an initiative of 13 land conservation organizations. In 2006, the conservation organizations worked with public partners, voluntary private landowners and mountain communities to safeguard approximately 11,100 acres of land in 64 locations, preserving water and air quality, wildlife habitat, scenic views, farmland and historic sites forever.

“This decade is viewed as the last chance to protect large tracts of undeveloped land in Western North Carolina,” said Carl Silverstein, Executive Director of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. “In the face of unprecedented growth and skyrocketing land values, we are racing to protect land that maintains the region's character we all treasure. This year sets us on track to meaningfully safeguard the Southern Blue Ridge mountains.”

Developed land has increased 77 percent in Western North Carolina in the last two decades. The region's population continues to soar with three million more people living in North Carolina than in 1970, and the mountains are predicted to lose another 490,400 acres of forests, farms, stream banks and wildlife habitats by 2022 — a size almost as large as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Meanwhile, the sharp increase in property values in the last five years has escalated the need for funds to protect these properties. Land trusts are often faced with protecting land valued $10,000 to $20,000 an acre.

“The stakes could not be higher, as North Carolina's number two economic engine – tourism – depends on the state's unspoiled naturally beauty” said Susie Hamrick Jones, Executive Director of Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway draws approximately 18 million visitors from around the world to Western North Carolina alone each year, contributing $2 billion a year to the regional economy.

“This decade is also a time of opportunity as more and more landowners are interested in conserving their land from mountain cove farms endeared by generations of the same family, to world-renowned biological hotspots,” said Kieran Roe, Executive Director of Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.

Blue Ridge Forever partners have a five-year goal of protecting 50,000 acres by 2010. Here are a few of the highlights from 2006:

•  The public can soon access more lands for respite and recreation, as Blue Ridge Parkway, Mount Mitchell State Park, New River State Park, Dupont State Forest gained additional acreage.

•  The new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park is closer to fruition as partners protected 271 acres of globally significant habitat to be added to the new park. They are also working to close transactions to add key properties in early 2007.

•  Clean water is safeguarded as land trusts continued their history of protecting lands in the headwaters of the Catawba River, New River and Little Tennessee, including lands adjacent to the state-owned 4,500-acre Needmore tract, ensuring that the high quality waters of the Little Tennessee remain pristine.

•  As part of the mosaic of 125,000 acres of scenic vistas in the Black Mountains, land trusts secured a 1,300-tract along the Cane River, protecting trout habitat and the viewshed of Mount Mitchell.

•  Land trusts worked with farmers across the region to protect 15 tracts of farmland, including a significant Native American settlement site near the Cowee Mound and a scenic and historic Valle Crucis family farm featured in state and regional publications.

Across the state, North Carolina's 24 land trusts protected 24,473 acres in 186 places.

“The varied landscapes protected this year represent well the magnificence of our region,” said Margaret Newbold, Chair of the Blue Ridge Forever and Associate Director of Conservation Trust for NC. “By combining the scope and abilities of the mountain land trusts as Blue Ridge Forever , we expect even greater successes in the upcoming years.”

Blue Ridge Forever is an initiative to raise public awareness and financial resources to safeguard land in the Southern Blue Ridge for future generations. The effort gets a boost in 2007 with support from Janirve Foundation, which recently awarded the Partnership $300,000, and Z Smith Reynolds, which awarded the group the second half of a 2-year grant for $400,000. For more information, see www.blueridgeforever.info , or find your local land trust at www.ctnc.org/ltmap.htm.

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North Carolina's land trusts preserve land and water resources to safeguard your way of life. We work in local communities to ensure that critical lands are protected for clean drinking water, recreation, tourism and working farms . In all, the land trusts of Blue Ridge Forever have conserved more than 150,000 acres in the Southern Blue Ridge.

 

Partners of Blue Ridge Forever :
Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
High Country Conservancy
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust
Land Trust for the Little Tennessee
National Committee for the New River
Pacolet Area Conservancy
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy

Statewide service provider: Conservation Trust for North Carolina

National conservation organizations:

The Trust for Public Land; The Conservation Fund* & The Nature Conservancy, N.C. Chapter*

*Affiliate members, play an advisory role in the Partnership