A campaign to preserve: Coalition centers on keeping 28 areas away from developers

WILKESBORO -- Kim Caudill treasures her place atop the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County, where she lives near the homeplaces of her parents and grandparents.

"The heritage, the apple orchards go way back, been done for generations, the land itself, forests," Caudill said, listing things that make the Brushies special. "You have a lot of privacy there, a sense of community, you know your neighbors, that kind of thing."

But the Brushy Mountains, with their large undeveloped forests, beautiful views and more-temperate climate than higher ranges, are also close enough to Winston-Salem, Charlotte and the Wilkesboros that conservationists fear that the area is a tremendous target for developers.

When Caudill, 35, was growing up, there were four houses on the road where she lived. Now, there are more than 20.

Alarmed by rapid development in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a land consortium is trying to protect a combined 50,000 acres near treasured parts of Western North Carolina, including the Brushy Mountains, the New River headwaters, Stone Mountain, Pond Mountain, Valle Crucis and Grandfather Mountain.

The group is already halfway to its goal, and released a report last week that aims to guide its continued efforts.

A coalition of 13 land trusts and conservation organizations began the Blue Ridge Forever campaign in 2006. Members have compiled goals to protect 28 areas, including those in Northwest North Carolina, as well as places farther west, such as the Highlands of Roan, the North Toe River headwaters and Hickory Nut Gorge.

"With land at a premium in Western North Carolina, the acreage we protect or lose this decade will define our landscape for generations," said Carl Silverstein, the executive director of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

The groups have worked together to develop their Blue Ridge Forever Vision. They plan to work with landowners, private donors and governments in a systematic way to protect farmlands, water resources, habitats and views.

"We feel it will give us really good guidance toward doing good work," said George Santucci, the executive director of the National Committee for the New River. He said that the goals put a lot of pressure on the member agencies, which expect to protect 50,000 acres by 2010.

But they didn't stop working on conservation efforts while they were developing the goals. Since starting the Blue Ridge Forever effort in 2006, the groups have already protected more than 26,000 acres in the targeted areas.

In the headwaters of the New River, the National Committee for the New River, the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust and the High Country Conservancy have worked together to protect 2,000 acres in the last two years. They have a goal of protecting nearly 3,000 more acres by 2010.

Typically, a land trust acquires and protects development rights through a donated or purchased conservation agreement and the owner retains the property. Sometimes, the land is purchased and transferred to state or national parks or other public lands.

At Pond Mountain, in the very northwest corner of the state in Ashe County, the goal is to protect about 3,800 acres by 2010. The Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust is working on the project, with a goal of protecting 1,800 acres by the end of this year.

In this case, the group is trying to buy Pond Mountain in cooperation with the state. It's possible the area could become open to the public for recreational uses, such as hiking.

The 13 conservation groups often try to tap into the same sources of government and philanthropic monies. The new Blue Ridge Forever Vision document doesn't list specific parcels to protect, but guides an overall effort in targeting areas to preserve.

Some of the groups have been doing this sort of work for decades in certain areas and had already protected thousands of acres.

But there's still much work to do. The Brushy Mountains are an isolated eastern spur of the Blue Ridge, made up of about 18,000 acres. Less than 1 percent of the land is in permanent protection. The Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust is trying to protect more than 2,000 acres of the Brushy Mountains by 2010.

And with new goals and cooperation, the groups hope to find strength in numbers.

"Our vision is so large that by ourselves we can't achieve it," said Santucci, of the National Committee for the New River.

"We don't really care who protects the land as long as it gets protected."

■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com.

■ To see the Blue Ridge Forever Vision, visit
www.blueridgeforever.info.

Journal Graphic by Richard Boyd II - Click to enlarge