What is SAHC?

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy is one of the country’s oldest and most respected land trusts.

Gray's Lily

Founded in 1974 as a non-profit, charitable organization, the SAHC Conservancy’s mission is to protect the world’s oldest mountains for the benefit of present and future generations. The Conservancy works with individuals and local communities to identify, preserve, and manage the region’s important lands.

The Conservancy has helped ensure the protection of more than 40,000 acres throughout the mountain region. Much work remains to be done. We invite all who care about the future of our southern mountains to join the effort. Your membership, donations, time, energy and ideas will help meet the challenges of protecting these magnificent natural resources for us and for future generations.

The Conservancy’s work involves:

Purchasing land and maintaining it with donated funds.
Working with landowners to create conservation alternatives.
Encouraging the use of conservation easements and other non-regulatory land conservation techniques.
Building partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to facilitate land conservation in the region.
Fostering the growth of community lands programs to engage in land conservation, currently through the Emerald Lands Outreach Program.

The Highlands of Roan, an area of remarkable scenic majesty, biological diversity, and historic significance, is the Conservancy’s flagship project. Writer Hiram Rogers recognized the Conservancy's accomplishments in preserving the Roan in the Appalachian Trailway News:

"Walk the 18 miles of the Appalachian Trail over Roan Mountain today and you’ll discover hundreds of acres of protected, high-elevation grassy balds. You’ll experience a precious ecosystem, home to numerous rare plants and animal species, including the renowned Gray’s lily. Visit in June to enjoy the famous bloom of Catawba rhododendron and flame azalea. Any time of year, the views from the mountain are fantastic, stretching north to the Mt. Rogers area, east to North Carolina’s Black Mountains, and south toward the Smokies. . . Were it not for the efforts of SAHC, the Roan Highlands today could be a mix of nearly reforested balds, forests at risk of logging, second-home developments, and ski areas, with the Appalachian Trail only a thin thread connecting them."