Press Room – Page 3

Prominent Cherokee County Farm Conserved

March 2, 2022

Brothers Ed and Keith Wood have conserved more than 250 acres of their Cherokee County family farm, passing the halfway point to conserving 400 acres of working farmland in the Valley River valley.

The Wood family has been farming the land that sits along the Nantahala Scenic Byway since the early 1900s. “The land has been a farm as long as I have been around,” says Ed. “Keith and I have made a living from it pretty much all our adult lives, and our father and grandfather before that.”

The conservation project was made possible through funding from the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, which offers compensation to farmers who choose to not develop their land. Mainspring Conservation Trust facilitated the process, which took an unusually long time. “Typically, these projects only take one to two years to complete,” Sara Posey-Davis, land conservation manager at Mainspring, says. “But Ed and Keith had a complex legal history on their farm with the highway, an unused rail line and the airport all adjacent to their land. We definitely had some ups and downs through the process, but I’m so grateful they stuck with us to preserve their farm.”

Visible from Nantahala National Forest lands in the Snowbird and Valley River Mountains, the property includes more than two miles of named and unnamed streams that are part of the Valley River Watershed. Additionally, more than 81% of the soil is considered Prime Farmland soil. “The farm is highly productive compared to other farms in the state — or even the country for that matter,” Keith Wood says. “It just makes sense for this farm to remain in food production for future generations. It’s hard to eat a building or asphalt.”

Mainspring expects to conserve the other 150 acres later this year. “As development pressures rise and demands on farmers grow, the need to protect working farmlands intensifies,” says Posey-Davis. “This century-old farm in the mountains will continue to produce outstanding crops for generations to come, and that’s something to be proud of.”

For more information about the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund grants to preserve farmland, contact Posey-Davis at Mainspring Conservation Trust via their website: www.mainspringconserves.org.

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Join our team! Click here for more information

January 26, 2022

Join Mainspring’s dedicated team and put your skills to work conserving our beautiful region.

We are currently accepting applications for Land Conservation Associate. The position will be open until the right candidate is found. Read the job description here, or download and print the PDF.

Mainspring is an equal opportunity employer and its hiring policies and practices will be applicable to all employees without regard to race, age, gender, religion, national origin, physical ability, or sexual orientation.

Mainspring Earns National Recognition for Strong Commitment to Public Trust and Conservation Excellence

January 11, 2022

North Carolinians have demonstrated strong support for saving the open spaces they love, and, for the last 25 years, Mainspring Conservation Trust has been doing just that in the Southern Blue Ridge. Now, Mainspring announces it has renewed its national land trust accreditation – proving once again that, as part of a network of over 450 accredited land trusts across the nation, it is committed to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in its conservation work.

“The tedious process of reaccreditation ultimately pays dividends, ensuring that Mainspring is consistently following the latest Standards and Practices set forth by our accrediting body, The Land Trust Alliance,” said Executive Director Jordan Smith. “Renewing our accreditation shows Mainspring’s ongoing commitment to permanent land conservation in the Southern Blue Ridge.”

Nationally accredited since 2010, Mainspring is required to provide extensive documentation and is subject to a comprehensive third-party evaluation in order to achieve this distinction. Accredited land trusts now steward almost 20 million acres – the size of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

“It is exciting to recognize Mainspring’s continued commitment to national standards by renewing this national mark of distinction,” said Melissa Kalvestrand, executive director of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. “Donors and partners can trust the more than 450 accredited land trusts across the country are united behind strong standards and have demonstrated sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting stewardship.”

Mainspring is one of 1,363 land trusts across the United States, according to the Land Trust Alliance’s most recent National Land Trust Census. A complete list of accredited land trusts and more information about the process and benefits can be found at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.

Founded in 1997 under the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, Mainspring has conserved more than 29,000 acres in the six western-most counties in North Carolina and northern Rabun County, Georgia, including the now Needmore Game Lands, Pinnacle Park, Old Cherokee Watauga Town and significant working farms. Learn more at www.mainspringconserves.org.