Cherokee County

Land Along the Valley River Conserved

April 7, 2022

New public access to the Valley River is coming to the Hiwassee watershed, after Mainspring Conservation Trust conserved almost 30 acres in Cherokee County.

Situated on Mason Branch, the low topography and location along the historic river channel renders most of the property ideal to be restored as a wetland, which are increasingly hard to find within the Southern Blue Ridge. Ecologically rich and diverse, mountain wetlands are important for providing habitat for many amphibians, birds, small mammals, and invertebrates. Wetlands also act as water purifiers, filtering sediment and absorbing many pollutants, while serving as a sponge to absorb water during storms, reducing downstream flood damage.

The conservation property includes more than half a mile of Valley River frontage, something that Mainspring plans to take advantage of. “In addition to protecting some increasingly rare wetland in the mountains, the staff is working with the Wildlife Resources Commission to provide much-needed public access to the Valley River,” explains local volunteer and Mainspring Board Member Johnny Strawn. “I am very pleased with this purchase.”

In the 1700s, the land was part of Little Tellico, a Cherokee Town, and includes a portion of the Trail of Tears route. Though it has always been a culturally significant tract, it will soon be put to present-day use. Partnerships are in place for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian artisans to harvest rivercane growing on the property for their use in weaving traditional baskets.

“Our mission to conserve important places, restore them so that they contribute to biodiversity, and then connect people to the outdoors is all summed up nicely in this particular project,” says Mainspring Executive Director Jordan Smith. “I am thrilled that Mainspring continues to expand its conservation footprint into critical places within the Hiwassee watershed.”

For more information about Mainspring, visit www.mainspringconserves.org.

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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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USFS Acquires 49-Acre Tract in Fires Creek from Mainspring

June 26, 2020

Murphy, NC, June 26, 2020 – The U.S. Forest Service has acquired a 49-acre inholding at the headwaters of Laurel Creek, a tributary to Fires Creek, in a popular recreation area on the Tusquitee Ranger District. Funding for the purchase comes from the North Carolina Threatened Treasures FY 2020 Land and Water Conservation Fund Appropriations.

The tract, which is completely surrounded by national forest, had been privately owned until it was purchased by Mainspring Conservation Trust in 2017.

In closing on the sale to the U.S. Forest Service, Jordan Smith, Executive Director for Mainspring said, “We are thrilled that the Laurel Creek inholding is forever part of the National Forest, after more than a decade of uncertainty. Mainspring is grateful to the landowners, who were willing to seek a conservation solution for this incredibly significant property, the organizations and supporters who helped donate to this project so the property could become public land, and for our partners at the U.S. Forest Service, who recognized what this inholding means to hikers, hunters, and people who love the Fires Creek Area. This project exemplifies what can happen when everyone works together for permanent conservation.”

The parcel includes a section of the Rim Trail, a 25- mile foot and horse path that traverses the rim of the Tusquitee Mountains and Valley River Mountains that form the Fires Creek watershed. The Rim Trail loop starts at the Fires Creek Recreation Area and connects to other trails including the Shinbone, Sassafras, Phillips Ridge, and Bristol Horse Trails.

“This property is an important wildlife area used by sportsmen for bear, deer, turkey, and grouse hunting and ensures recreation access to the Rim Trail,” said District Ranger Andy Gaston. “Mainspring Conservation Trust has been a great partner in adding public lands to this well-loved part of the Nantahala National Forest.”

Acquisition of the property also helps provide for abundant clean water through protection of the headwaters of Fires Creek, Laurel Creek, and Phillips Creek that flow into the Hiwassee River Basin, the primary source of drinking water for residents in North Carolina and Georgia.