Saving a mountain for our children and grandchildren

By Philip Moore

Overlooking the Shooting Creek valley in Clay County, the Chunky Gal Mountains provide a year-round source of beauty for motorists, hikers, hunters, and fishermen. US 64, snaking through Glade Gap, is designated by the Department of Transportation as part of the Waterfall Scenic Byway, while the Chunky Gal Trail follows the ridgeline to provide foot travelers a connection between the Rim Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

With the help of a local landowner and the support of the local US Forest Service District Office, the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) is helping to ensure that this breathtaking landscape, which is entirely surrounded by National Forest land, is maintained. LTLT recently purchased a 53-acre tract of private ridgetop land from Robert S. (Sid) and Barbara Penland of Hayesville, with the goal of seeing it permanently conserved.

The property, visible from numerous locations on US 64 and Shooting Creek, has high conservation value – which this purchase will permanently protect. The tract is within 1,000 feet of the Riley Knob Natural Heritage Area. The bulk of the land lies within the watershed of Muskrat Branch, considered Wild Trout waters by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Rich soils extend all the way to the top of the mountain, resulting in an atypical ridgeline forest with buckeye trees, an open understory, and a lush layer of wildflowers including mayapple, large-flowered trillium, wood lily, and many other species. Two large rock outcrops occur, one at the northwest corner and another to the southeast, with the Chunky Gal Trail meandering between them, forming over half a mile of the parcel boundary and allowing hikers scenic views of the valley.

Through the continued generosity of its donors, LTLT maintains a revolving fund that allows it to consider unique conservation opportunities, such as Chunky Gal, when they arise. With both the Penland’s and the Forest Service’s desire to see the tract ultimately placed in the National Forest System, LTLT chose to “bridge” the funding between the private landowner and the Forest Service and purchased the property in August, 2009. LTLT plans to convey the property to the Forest Service when the agency has acquisition funds available.

A conservation success story

Land trust saves 28-acre forest, trout streams in Vengeance Creek

 

 

By Philip Moore

A century from now, a child will still have the opportunity to catch her first speckled trout in the cold, plunging waters of Ramp Cove Branch. Hikers and hunters will still climb the steep ridges above the creek. And springtime will continue to witness wake-robin trilliums and halberd-leaved violets emerging beneath poplars near the water’s edge.

 

Thanks to a willing landowner, the support of the local US Forest Service District Office, and the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, 28 pristine wooded acres in the Vengeance Creek community will be protected from development. The land will eventually be added to the National Forest System.

 

Jackie McClure, a local realtor, heads a small company that owned the land. McClure felt that the wild, rugged property was not the best site for development and should be conserved if possible. He contacted the Forest Service last year with an offer to sell the tract, which is entirely surrounded by National Forest land. The Forest Service showed interest in the property, but was unable to purchase it at the time, and referred McClure to the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT), a non-profit land conservation group based in Franklin.

 

Thanks to McClure’s commitment to conserving the land and his willingness to sell it below market value – and to the Forest Service’s pledge to ultimately accept the tract – LTLT was able to purchase the property in June. LTLT will convey the property to the Forest Service once the agency has acquisition funds available.

 

The property is a true conservation prize. Lying in Ramp Cove in the Valley River watershed, the tract shares a mile of boundary with National Forest. Over a half mile of clear mountain streams flow across the property, including Ramp Cove Branch which is designated as wild trout waters by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Hemlocks, tulip poplars, and wildflowers are particularly abundant on the land, which is fully forested. Portions of a rock wall and foundation are all that remain of an old homesite near the upper end of the tract, while the highest point on the property affords a spectacular winter view of the Snowbird Mountains.

 

In not selling the property for development, McClure realizes he chose the less lucrative option. He feels he made the right decision, however. “I’m glad the Forest Service can get the land. I didn’t want to see [houses] go in up there.”

 

The mission of the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee is to conserve the waters, forests, farms, and heritage of the upper Little Tennessee and Hiwassee River valleys in western North Carolina. LTLT occasionally purchases property but typically conserves land via donated conservation easements, which allow landowners to retain ownership of their land while voluntarily agreeing to avoid or limit development, and which often generate significant tax benefits. LTLT’s representative in our area is Philip Moore, who grew up in Clay County. He can be reached at 361-7884 or at [email protected].

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