Posts
Buckskin Branch Farm
Like a lovely landscape painting, Buckskin Branch Farm spreads across a scenic valley in the Fines Creek community of Haywood County. The open pasture and fertile fields of the farm […]
Full Sun Farm 2
Full Sun Farm — the name says it all. A quintessential small mountain farm on sun drenched bottomland in the Sandy Mush Creek valley, Full Sun Farm possesses fertile soils […]
50-Acre Farm Donation in Sandy Mush
The Sandy Mush community has played an important role in conserving productive farmland – for SAHC, Buncombe County, and Western North Carolina. Building trust with landowners in Sandy Mush has enabled us to protect rich bottomland soils designated as important for agriculture and productive farmland across varied terrain in this gem of an Appalachian community. This year, Jim Gibson generously donated his 50-acre farm in the heart of Sandy Mush to Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
Jim has long been interested in farmland preservation and helping young farmers overcome obstacles, and it is fitting that his farm – now permanently protected by SAHC – anchors our conservation work in Sandy Mush. Read more
2020 Conservation Review
Looking back as we head into the final stretch of 2020, we all know that this year has been far from ordinary. On a positive note, it has been a record-breaking year for local conservation efforts! Since the beginning of January, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has closed on the protection of more than 2,600 acres across the mountains of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, with additional projects scheduled to wrap up by year-end. Several of these have been in the works for many years.
“It is a testament to the commitment of SAHC members, staff, and conservation-minded supporters that we have been able to complete these projects during extraordinary circumstances, and we are grateful to all the people who make this remarkable work possible,” says SAHC Executive Director Carl Silverstein. “There is something tangible and reassuring in preserving land – it’s something you can put your hand on. These conservation projects help preserve cultural connections to the past, places to connect with nature, and vital resources we rely on now, and which will be increasingly critical in the future.” Read more
Sinkhole Creek Farm
In a picturesque landscape just south of the Roan Massif, farms with rolling fields, pastures, and forests contain a rich repository of stories and memories, along with agriculturally important prime soils and stream sources. Sam and Ronda Silver, the seventh generation of a local farming family, wanted to make sure that their beautiful Century Farm would be passed down to future generations intact. So, they worked with SAHC to protect 111 acres with an agricultural conservation easement. Read more
Bowditch Bottoms – 87 Acres
Bowditch Bottoms with Celo Knob in the background, photo by Catherine Pawlik, Carolinas’ Nature Photographers (CNPA)
The Bowditch Bottoms project has been a long time in the process – beginning in 2014 – and we are thrilled that it successfully closed in June! This 87-acre property in Yancey County contains important soils, farmland, undeveloped forested and non-forested habitat for wildlife, headwaters to the South Toe River, and intact wetland and riparian corridors. It is visible from the Mount Mitchell Scenic Byway and several higher-elevation vantage points in the Black Mountains and the Highlands of the Roan. Read more
Byrd Farm – Mitchell County
Byrd Charolais Farm – Mitchell County (Highlands of Roan Area)
The Highlands of Roan are known for rare and fragile ecological communities as well as magnificent, panoramic views studded with scenic mountain farms. At the end of 2019, SAHC permanently protected 127 acres of beautiful family farmland in Mitchell County, preserving bucolic views along NC Hwy 226. The Byrd Charolais* Farm is an agricultural gem, with water conservation practices in place and a long heritage of mountain farming. One of just a few farm preservation projects SAHC has completed in the Highlands of Roan, the property is now permanently protected for future generations.
* Charolais are a breed of cattle which originated in France in the historic Charolais region. Read more
