conservation

Under Cover – A Mainspring Project

January 7, 2026

Tucked just a mile outside the heart of Andrews, North Carolina, a 30-foot veil of water tumbles down a mossy cliff into the trout-rich waters of Britton Creek. Cover Falls isn’t marked on roadside signs or mapped in glossy guidebooks, but it’s a place locals know about — and it’s worth venturing off the beaten path to find.

Here, where the spray of the falls keeps the rocks damp year-round, rare wildflowers flourish. Wildlife moves freely between this property and the 30,000 acres of adjoining U.S. Forest Service land in the Snowbird Mountains. Beneath the surface, the cold, clean waters of Britton Creek shelter native brook trout and the endemic Valley River Crayfish, a species found nowhere else in the world.

But the natural beauty of Cover Falls is only part of its story. The creek and the falls are named for Lillian Brittain Cover, an Andrews native and political pioneer who, just four years after women gained the right to vote, became a delegate to the 1924 Democratic Convention. She later broke barriers as the first woman to serve on North Carolina’s State Stream Commission, championing clean water and conservation decades before it was commonplace. The property also borders more than 2,200 feet of Tatham Gap Road, a segment of the Trail of Tears.

Despite its many cultural and ecological values, this remarkable place recently came close to being lost. The previous owner had purchased the tract with plans for residential development, and with its proximity to downtown Andrews and other residences nearby, the threat of construction loomed large. Negotiations to protect the land came down to the wire, then intensified when another buyer made a higher offer. Although the owner preferred to conserve the land, they made it clear that if Mainspring’s deal fell through, the property would be developed.

Happily, however, through support from some generous anonymous donors and other partners, the land is now permanently protected from private development under Mainspring’s ownership, to eventually be protected in perpetuity by a North Carolina Land and Water Fund conservation easement.

The Cover Falls property will ultimately become Mainspring’s newest public preserve, complete with safe, well-marked trails, educational signage and an access area that honors both the area’s ecology and history. Visitors will soon be able to follow a loop trail dedicated to Lillian Brittain Cover, learn her story and experience the same natural wonders she once knew and fought to protect.

“This project reflects one of Mainspring’s core commitments — conserving special places in ways that connect people to the land,” says Graham Garrett, Mainspring land conservation associate. “While there is sometimes a perception that land trusts ‘lock away’ land, Cover Falls is a great example of how conservation can create lasting public benefits. When my boys and I play at the base of the falls and feel the spray on our faces, I take pleasure in knowing that one day they may do the very same thing with their children.”

Conservation Partners Collaborate to Save Remaining Inholding in Panthertown Valley

October 8, 2025

Thanks to a collaboration among local conservation partners, Mainspring Conservation Trust has acquired a critical 94-acre inholding within Panthertown Valley, and is now on track to be permanently protected.

One of western North Carolina’s most cherished natural areas, Panthertown is often called the “Yosemite of the East.” The 6,300 acres stretch along the Eastern Continental Divide, offering more than 25 miles of trails that wind through granite domes, mountain bogs, trout streams, and waterfalls.

When the U.S. Forest Service acquired Panthertown Valley and the surrounding Roy Taylor Memorial Forest in the 1980s, one parcel—now known as the Slickens Creek tract—remained privately owned. Surrounded entirely by national forest, the property includes more than 2,800 feet of wild trout waters and provides critical early successional habitat for species such as Golden-winged Warblers and Ruffed Grouse. The tract also lies within the Blue Ridge Parkway viewshed and links two popular trails: the Rattlesnake Knob and Turkey Knob trails.

Conserving this inholding has been a shared goal of Mainspring, Friends of Panthertown, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, and the U.S. Forest Service for decades. The opportunity finally arrived when the longtime owners’ heirs prepared to sell. Thanks to support from a private donor and Atira Conservation, Mainspring was able to move quickly to secure the land before it could be lost to private development.

“Protecting the Slickens Creek property is about more than conserving acreage—it’s about completing the vision for Panthertown Valley,” said Sophie Vaszquez, Land Conservation Associate at Mainspring Conservation Trust. “This project connects trails, protects rare habitats, and ensures that this wild landscape will remain unspoiled for generations to come.”

Generous donors to the partnering organizations, including the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, have helped us raise $100,000 of the $150,000 needed to remove unsafe structures, create a new trail connection to the Panthertown network, and support the long-term stewardship of the site’s sensitive habitats. If you’d like to help with the remaining $50,000 needed, visit here and apply your donation to “Panthertown Land Purchase” in the drop-down menu.

The Slickens Creek acquisition builds on other conservation projects with the land trust and Panthertown. In 2017, Mainspring purchased a 15.9-acre tract at the Salt Rock Gap trailhead—transforming a pinch point into a welcoming public entrance before transferring it to the Forest Service.

As the final unconserved piece of this significant landscape, this latest Mainspring project links ecological protection with recreation and beauty. It’s the culmination of decades of persistence and partnership, and a great example that when preparation meets opportunity, this region wins.

Click here to support this conservation project.

Renowned Artists Conserve Their Life’s Inspiration

December 21, 2022

The last private property that Lands Creek crosses before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Tuckasegee River is now conserved, thanks to Swain County residents George and Elizabeth Ellison.

The Ellisons have lived there since 1976, discovering the property by accident while hiking an old wagon trail in the National Park. The couple thought they were still on public property until they stumbled upon an old shack and eventually convinced the owner to first rent, then purchase, the 38 acres adjacent to the National Park.

*Elizabeth and George Ellison at home on Lower Lands Creek. Image credit: Quintin Ellison*

The couple credits the land as a muse for both of their personal careers. George, a renowned regional naturalist and author of seven award-winning books, and Elizabeth, a skilled artist and teacher, both draw inspiration from the property that has cultivated a sense of place in their respective works. “Finding our personal sanctuary on Lands Creek was undoubtedly more important to our personal success than words can convey,” Elizabeth says. By permanently conserving the picturesque property, she and George hope to “pay back to the land what it has given to us.”

*The sounds of Lands Creek can be heard on the back porch of the Ellison family home. This is the last private property before the creek flows in the Smoky Mountain National Park.*

As they grew increasingly interested in permanently protecting the property, the Ellisons began discussing conservation easements with close friend Bill Gibson, and he suggested they speak with Mainspring. “I knew George and Elizabeth loved the land,” says Gibson, who sits on the Mainspring board of directors. Gibson was deeply instrumental in the 1999 Mainspring-led project that conserved the headwaters of Lands Creek, so he was excited to facilitate a project that would bookend the 1999 project with this 2022 one. “Conserving both ends of the creek is very meaningful,” he says.

Under the terms of the conservation easement, funded through a grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, the private property will remain intact, keeping the house and outbuildings where the Ellisons live, garden, and maintain their own hiking trails. The easement will help protect the viewshed for portions of the GSMNP, the Nantahala National Forest, and portions of the Tuckasegee River.