Press Room – Page 20

Regional Land Trust Hoping to Help Expand Local Greenway

May 17, 2017

April 23, 2017 – The purchase of almost 14 acres in the town of Franklin could help expand Macon County’s Little
Tennessee River Greenway.

Mainspring Conservation Trust, a regional land trust based in Franklin, closed Wednesday, April 26 on 13.9 acres off Siler Road that borders Southwestern Community College, Macon Early College and the Macon County Public Library. The land includes 1,200 feet of Cartoogechaye Creek and was identified in the original Greenway plan and in the recent “Bike Walk Franklin” plan as an important tract for extending the Greenway closer to the Macon County Recreation Park.

When the property became available for sale, Mainspring was contacted by several county residents asking them to acquire the property and hold it until it could become part of the Greenway system. Sharon Taylor, Mainspring Executive Director, said they were glad to step up for the community. “This is one of those great projects that touches all three of our core initiatives: conserve the land, restore the water and connect people to nature.” Although Mainspring will not be part of extending the County owned Greenway, Taylor feels there is much support for the extension and looks forward to working with the County leaders to help make it possible.

While Mainspring owns the property, there are plans to address the restoration needs of the land. Jordan Smith, Land Conservation Manager for Mainspring, is seeking grant money to restore the streambank and wetland portion of the property and funds to convey a conservation easement to the State of North Carolina. (update, May 17, 2017: The Conservation Trust for North Carolina has announced a grant award to Mainspring $19,081 for this project) “Once we protect the property’s natural resources and restore the steambank and wetland areas, we hope to work with partners to develop interpretive and educational signage on the extended Greenway, as an opportunity for folks to be able to see the benefits of restoration work and land conservation.”

Smith is excited about the possibilities. “Like all of our projects, this one is going to take a lot of partners to make it happen. But we know the backing for this is out there and I hope to see people show their support for the Greenway extension that has been talked about for some time.”

Currently celebrating its 20^th anniversary, Mainspring has conserved more than 25,000 acres and connected thousands of youth to nature in the six western-most counties in North Carolina and northern Rabun County, Georgia. Learn more at mainspringconserves.org.

Mainspring Partners With Two Families to Conserve More Than 340 Acres

February 14, 2017

January 23, 2017 – Mainspring Conservation Trust recently conserved more than 340 acres from two private properties at each end of their service area, capping off a successful year for the local land trust. Each property is conserved through a conservation easement, a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and land trust that permanently limits the uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.

*McGuire property (see arrow), as seen from the WCU campus*

Patrick and Jeanne McGuire chose to conserve 202 acres in Jackson County, protecting a prominent ridgeline visible from Sylva, Webster, Cullowhee and Western Carolina University (WCU). Located less than a half-mile from Roy Taylor Forest, a large unit of the Nantahala National Forest, the forested property contains a diversity of plant communities and unique habitats. There are at least eight headwater springs and approximately 3,440 feet of first-order streams. These streams feed into larger creeks that flow into the Tuckaseigee River which provides drinking water for WCU.

“For most of my life I have dreamed of conserving land that has been in our family for six decades,” says Patrick McGuire. “With the help of Mainspring, 2016 was the year to donate a conservation easement.” McGuire is glad others will benefit from his decision. “Jeanne and I are so grateful that through this gift we have been able to protect the view shed for WCU, some of the head water springs of Wayehutta and Cane Creeks, and countless wildlife and timber concerns.”

*The forested Jensen property is great for habitat to thrive.*

At the other end of Mainspring’s service area sits Fishermare Branch in Cherokee County. The 141-acre property, owned by George and Linda Jensen, is adjacent to more than 28,000 contiguous acres of conserved National Forest System lands in the Snowbird Mountains. The entire forested property contains the uppermost headwaters of Fishermare Branch. Visible from numerous locations in the Valley River valley, including US Hwy 74, the land has rich old-growth forest features and fosters a wide diversity of plant and wildlife species.

Hiwassee Programs Manager Sara Ruth Posey says the Cherokee County easement project is meaningful both personally and professionally. “As a new employee of Mainspring, this is my first conservation easement project, and I couldn’t be more pleased. The Jensen’s decision to conserve their forested land means the property will forever provide ideal habitat for wildlife, including stream habitat for salamanders. It will be a blessing to see this hardwood forest mature through time.”

Jordan Smith, Land Conservation Manager, says closing on projects at each end of Mainspring’s service area exemplifies the commitment to be a regional land trust. “Partnering with folks from completely different backgrounds, who share a common interest of conserving their properties, is amazing,” he says. “Being able to customize a conservation easement that satisfies the needs of the landowners while protecting the conservation values of the properties gives me hope for future conservation work across our region.”

Celebrating 20 years in 2017, Mainspring has conserved more than 25,000 acres over six counties in western North Carolina and Rabun County, Georgia. The Franklin-based non-profit also works to restore natural and cultural resources and connects people to those treasures.

Macon County News: Read2Me Set to Unveil Second Story Walk at Parker Meadows

October 31, 2016

A photo that will be used on Mainspring's board along the Story Walk at Parker Meadows — A photo that will be used on Mainspring’s board along the Story Walk at Parker Meadows

October 27, 2016
Brittney Burns – Staff Writer

Macon County’s newest recreation park will be getting a new feature next week as Read2Me is set to unveil the nonprofit’s second StoryWalk at the Parker Meadows Recreation Complex on Friday, Nov. 4 at 10 a.m.

As part of an ongoing project, Read2Me set out to establish two StoryWalks in Macon County this year. The first walk was unveiled in May at the Rotary Loop along the Little Tennessee Greenway. Through a partnership with Macon County and Mainspring Conversation Trust, Read2Me’s second Story Walk is ready for the public and is featured on a stretch of the mile-long walking track that outlines Parker Meadows.

A StoryWalk® is a fun, educational activity that places a children’s story along a popular walking route in the community. Conceived as a way to inspire parents, teachers, and caregivers to take young children out of doors for physical activity and to learn, StoryWalk helps build children’s interest in reading while encouraging healthy activity for both adults and children.

“We want to invite the community to join us in celebrating our second StoryWalk,” said Diane Cotton, president of Read2Me. “We will have light refreshments for the community and are excited to have Maggie Kennedy, director of the Children’s Department at the Macon County Public Library leading a walk through the featured book, ‘Pond Babies.’”

Research supports an interactive and experiential process of learning spoken and written language skills that begins in early infancy. It is now known that children gain significant knowledge of language, reading, and writing long before they enter school. Children learn to talk, read, and write through such social literacy experiences as adults or older children interacting with them using books and other literacy materials, including magazines, markers, and paper. Early literacy research states that:

– Language, reading and writing skills develop at the same time and are intimately linked.

– Early literacy development is a continuous developmental process that begins in the first years of life.

– Early literacy skills develop in real life settings through positive interactions with literacy materials and other people.

While Read2Me members are excited to be unveiling another StoryWalk, they are already hard at work planning to install two additional StoryWalks in the coming year.

StoryWalks are interchangeable so the more stories, the more options to move the stories around so members of the community can enjoy them. Read2Me is currently looking at suggestions for locations for the next two StoryWalks as well as continued sponsorships and partnerships to make the walks a reality for the community.

Macon County’s first two StoryWalks were made possible through a sponsorship with the Macon County Public Library and the Franklin Health and Fitness Center, both recognizing the importance of early literacy and promoting healthy activities for families in the community.

Mainspring Conservation Trust also sponsored the StoryWalk and worked to develop a board that specifically educated readers about all of the native “bugliest bugs” and “pond babies” that can be found in and around Macon County. The project was funded through the sponsors and local businesses and organizations like The Franklin Press, Signs Express, Goshen Timber Frames, Russell Hawkins with Edwards Jones, and Rotary Club of Franklin Daybreak. Brett Murphy, owner of Arrowood Construction also volunteered his time and talents to donate labor and materials to have the story boards mounted and planted at Parker Meadows.

StoryWalk was created by Anne Ferguson in Montpelier, VT., when she worked for the Vermont Department of Health. Ferguson was thinking about ways to prevent or lessen the impact of chronic disease on adults and children by increasing physical activity. She also wanted to find something that was fun for families to do together in natural settings.

Read2Me will be hosting a celebration to unveil the new Story Walk at Parker Meadows beginning at 10 on Friday, Nov. 4. For more details, visit Read2Me on Facebook.