Greening the Mountains: Saved Spaces

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Across the seven-state mountain region, parks are being expanded, lands preserved, rivers protected, mining areas reclaimed and much more.

Throughout the Blue Ridge region, conservation organizations, government agencies, property owners and dedicated volunteers have teamed up to save spaces. From small tracts of acreage to giant swaths of land, from rivers to watersheds, from habitat integrity to wildlife protections and preservation of cultural heritage, we have reasons to celebrate.

Here are 14 recent success stories of protecting, preserving and reclaiming our natural resources across the seven-state mountain region.

West Virginia

Big Cove, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Tucker County. Another critical piece of the nature puzzle snapped into place when this northern cove was added to the existing Canaan Valley NWR. The 1,971-acre tract is described as a primordial landscape with global importance for biodiversity, rare plant communities, bird migration and one of the least-disturbed wetlands in the country. Scientists state that it looks as it did 1,000 years ago and contains 10,000-year-old peat (soil) deposits.

The Canaan Valley, measuring 13 miles long and five miles wide at 3,200 feet in elevation, is “the largest high-altitude valley east of the Mississippi.” This high elevation bowl-shaped location is home to 580 plant species and 288 animal species, many of whom usually reside in lands much farther north.

Big Cove was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2023 and transferred to the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in early 2024. Visitors can take guided walks with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Royal Scot mine reclamation. Greenbrier County. Sitting on 40 acres atop a mountain is an abandoned mine refuse site. This massive pile of toxic materials was stacked upon land that was previously surface mined. After a rain, acidic mine drainage contaminated waterways and cost the state a quarter of a million dollars per year to treat until civil engineers at West Virginia University implemented an innovative decade-long project to save this space.

There are 117 named mountains in the stunning terrain of Greenbrier County. This reclamation project is “building” a new mountain with excess wood paper pulp, grasses and contouring with computer modeling techniques.

Coal mines (abandoned prior to 1977) add up to 173,000 acres across the state and 30% of residents live within a mile of an unreclaimed site. Under the recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, West Virginia is scheduled to receive an additional $140 million per year over the next 15 years to facilitate mine reclamation projects. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection plans to use Royal Scot reclamation strategies at other sites.

Virginia

Daisy Adcock Property, Monacan Indian Nation. Amherst County. The 2,600 members of this western Virginia Indian Nation are one of the oldest indigenous First Nation groups to still reside on their ancestral lands. For more than 10,000 years, the Monacan people have lived near Bear Mountain, the cultural hub of the community. And now they have (re)acquired an additional 100 acres of their original homelands.

The hardwood-rich mountain land, known as the Daisy Adcock property, is located adjacent to the Monacan Museum and Culture Center. It is characterized as having an Outstanding Forest Conservation Value in addition to deep spiritual meaning for its people. With a summit of 3,554 feet, Bear Mountain and its slopes are home to rare plants and endangered animal species.

The Monacan tribe received federal recognition as a sovereign nation in 2018. The purchase, protection and preservation of this sacred property was made possible via a Virginia Land Conservation Foundation state grant in 2024.

Clinch River State Park. Tazewell, Russell, Wise and Scott counties. Spread across several counties is Virginia’s first blueway state park—a series of riverside lands connected by the river. Some 640 acres will be protected and accessible to the public. In addition to recreational activities, this new endeavor will focus on the health of the river, biodiversity and educational programs.

The Clinch River is second only to the Amazon River as the most biologically diverse river on the planet. This waterway is considered the “number-one hotspot in the U.S. for imperiled aquatic species” due to the numbers of vulnerable and rare animals. The river’s edges are also home to rare mammals, plants and birds.

One hundred and thirty-five miles of this 300-mile river flow within the state of Virginia. Development of this state park continues with plans for adding more smaller properties (250 to 400 acres each) along the banks. These saved spaces, affectionately called “a string of pearls,” will be connected by canoe and kayak access points.

Kentucky

Fern Lake, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Bell County. Ultimately prevailing over threats from coal mining, logging and development, this 712-acre lake property has survived its 20+-year battle for protection. The acquisition of this space is valued for several reasons: drinking water for nearby Middlesboro, crucial migratory corridor for wildlife, habitat conservation, climate resilience, scenic value and connection between existing park lands.

Across 24,000 acres, Cumberland Gap NHP is home to diverse wildlife including bison and unique creatures adapted to life in caves. It is the location of the “passageway west,” a deep notch in the mountains created millions of years ago when tectonic plates collided. 

This saved space, purchased in 2023 by The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund, will be (or is) under the protection and management of the National Park Service. Fern Lake can be seen from the popular Pinnacle Overlook, located a short drive from the park’s visitor center. Plans for use of and public access to the lake are currently under discussion.

Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area. Bell, Knox and Leslie counties. At the close of 2023, Kentucky finalized plans for the largest conservation easement in the state’s history—permanent protection for 54,560 acres now known as the Cumberland Forest WMA. This environmental achievement was the result of coordinated efforts between conservation groups, foundations, governmental agencies and legislative bodies.

Growing in these mountains “are some of the most intact temperate hardwood forests remaining in the world and [they] support a variety of fish and wildlife species.” Federally endangered species depend upon the headwaters here, and the area is “considered a natural climate solution” for environmental challenges of the future. This saved space adds to the ongoing Cumberland Forest Project along the Central Appalachian Mountains.

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife department will hold the easement and develop projects relating to habitat improvement and climate resiliency. These include elk research, reforestation of former mining sites, tree planting and public recreation access planning.

Tennessee

Cherokee National Forest. Monroe County. Lying adjacent to the Cherokee National Forest are 81 acres of steep mountain forests, a perennial tributary of the Hiwassee River and a beautiful valley. In November 2024 the owners of this space, working with The Land Trust for Tennessee, protected the “forested and scenic attributes of the property” via a conservation easement. Concerned about increasing pressure to develop wilderness areas, these property owners’ decision creates a permanent safeguard for the land and establishes a de facto extension of the national forest.

The Cherokee National Forest is the largest public land in the state with more than 650,000 acres of forests, mountains, valleys and rivers. Public enjoyment includes 700 miles of trails and world-class whitewater. More than 20,000 species of animals and plants call this area home.

The Land Trust for Tennessee works with property owners to craft conservation easements—legal agreements for permanent protections and/or use limitations while preserving many of the landowner’s rights. To date, this organization has protected 136,000 acres across 76 counties in the state.

Shady Valley Wetlands. Johnson County. Following past demands for agricultural irrigation, only patches remained of cranberry bogs, hemlock forests and other rare ecosystems in these formerly lush wetlands. Beginning in 1979, this preserve, a “rare, high-elevation remnant of the last Ice Age,” has been saved in increments since that time.

The climate, rainfall and characteristics of this bowl-shaped valley are “remarkable to find so far south of New England and Canada.” There are four distinct nature preserves. Orchard Bog and Quarry Bog support wild native cranberries. Schoolyard Springs is a unique sandy soil with bubbling waters. And John R. Dickey Birch Branch Sanctuary has native grasses, steep hillsides and streams.

To save these ecologically and globally significant areas, The Nature Conservancy has purchased, received donated lands and restored more than 800 acres to date. Known as a “bird mecca” and haven for rare plants and animals like the southern bog turtle, visitors can experience the area via a self-guided trail system and elevated boardwalk.

North Carolina

Bobs Creek Natural Area. McDowell County. These 6,000 acres of “pocket wilderness” are now public conservation lands and a key element for North Carolina’s Wilderness Gateway State Trail—an “ecological corridor between larger tracts of natural lands” across four counties. This tract will add to the growing network of saved spaces connecting the South Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Topography here includes mountains, valleys, sheltered coves, ravines, rocky outcrops and headwater streams. Living amongst the habitats and chestnut oak and montane oak-hickory forests are 14 species of rare plants and animals. Important clear streams feed the Catawba and Broad River basins, providing drinking water and riparian ecosystems. Hikers enjoy four named mountains within Bobs Creek NA, the highest being Huntsville Mountain that can be accessed via a trail to the summit.

Beginning several years ago, public and private groups implemented this project in phases that successfully concluded in 2022. The state’s Division of Parks and Recreation manages the property and the public can enjoy the wilderness by way of low-impact recreation.

New River. Ashe and Watauga counties. In the final months of 2024, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, dozens of volunteers took to the banks and waters of New River for clean-up efforts. The call to save this “space” was answered by 87 people during the first two days in Ashe and Watauga counties. According to reports from the New River Conservancy, “volunteers retrieved nearly 150 bags of debris, countless pieces of wood from bridges, decks, etc. plus kayaks, a 500-gallon container of kerosene and 30+ tires.”

Clean-up efforts are ongoing for the New River in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

South Carolina

Saluda Bluffs. Pickens County. This tract of land is visible from the top of Table Rock, the iconic stone ledge rockface in the state park of the same name, and from the nearby Caesars Head mountains. For more than five decades, conservationists have sought to secure this “single largest privately held and unprotected parcel” in Pickens County. And they have succeeded.

In 2023, plans were concluded to purchase and create a state-operated nature preserve across 1,092 acres—a cumulative effort between a land trust, agencies and the property owner. This adds to the approximately 10,000 (noncontiguous) acres consisting of parks, preserves and wildlife management areas in the Upstate.

This saved space in the heart of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area is bounded on the north by the South Saluda River and on the south by a mile of Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway 11. Protecting the former is critical for clean water and flood prevention and the latter for natural vistas and contiguous wilderness.

According to a press release, the state’s Department of Natural Resources will oversee this tract as the new South Saluda Wildlife Management Area. It opens to the public in 2025.

Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway 11. Pickens County. Following along the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this byway is considered the most beautiful drive in the state. The 112-mile route offers 120 waterfalls, lakes, historic sites and structures, bridges and tunnels and charming small towns. However, its scenic designation offers no specific protections. Therefore, the lands surrounding it have faced increasing pressure from developers. Following a 12-year battle, 660 adjacent acres have now received protection.

In mid-2024, three properties (White Branch, Little Eastatoee and Gilstrap Mountain) were acquired by the conservation group Naturaland Trust with the support and funding of partners. The significance, along with scenic integrity, is the establishment of “a crucial connection for wildlife between two protected habitats—Nine Times Forest and Jocassee Gorges Wilderness Area.”

Naturaland Trust’s efforts continue to secure another 106-acre parcel known as Eastatoee Ridge. This elevated land surrounds the dramatic Eastatoee Creek gorge, famous for its unique geology, waterfalls, trails, old-growth forests and trout streams.

Georgia

Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. Dawson County. Lands around Amicalola State Park, home to the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast, tripled in size due to recent conservation efforts. Two thousand acres of forests surrounding this popular destination, “slated to be subdivided and sold,” are now under permanent protection in the Dawson Forest WMA.

In addition to the scenic beauty, this area is home to key headwater streams that form a critical watershed for points south and an important habitat for “freshwater species not seen elsewhere in the world.” Diverse terrain of foothills, valleys, high country and river gorges are crisscrossed with trail systems (improved, backcountry, equestrian, old single-track road beds and more) rich with flora and fauna.

For Appalachian Trail enthusiasts, this area is the location of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the famous 2,197-mile hiking trail. This rare opportunity for conservation of large tracts of land in the northern part of the state was accomplished via the work and support of public and private organizations.

Conasauga Road. Gilmer County. Lying heretofore unnoticed in the north Georgia mountains is a small parcel of land virtually unrecognizable from the surrounding wilderness. While only seven acres in size, this space provides a buffer to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and Pinhoti Trail. In 2021, the Mountain Conservation Trust finalized a conservation easement with the property owner for permanent protection. This will ensure the integrity of wildlife habitats and aquatic resources.

This national forest is comprised of 867,000 acres of natural beauty, rare flora and fauna, 850 miles of trails, rivers, waterfalls and cultural history. The Pinhoti (native language for “turkey home”) is a premier long-distance hiking trail (335 miles) beginning in Alabama. It joins the Benton McKaye Trail in Georgia and continues into the Appalachian Trail.

The efforts to save this space are considered “an example of how conservation organizations, [private citizens] and federal agencies can work together to achieve a positive conservation outcome with related public recreation benefits.”

The story above first appeared in our March / April 2025 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!