Nature Conservancy to buy more Jackson Co Land

[L Roebuck]

Conservancy will expand Jackson lands

Unspoiled valley full of hard-to-find plants, many caves

The Nature Conservancy is more than doubling the size of its scenic Sharp-Bingham Mountains Preserve in Jackson County.

Lynne Berry, the conservancy's local spokeswoman, said Thursday that the organization plans to use a $1.5 million grant from the Minnesota-based 3M Foundation to buy 1,120 wooded acres next to the existing preserve.

Jim Fincher, site manager for 3M's Decatur plant, will announce the award during a reception in the Russel Erskine Hotel ballroom tonight. The land purchase is expected to close this summer.

Buying and protecting vast stretches of the Jackson County mountains are part of the Nature Conservancy's strategy for saving the Paint Rock River, considered one of America's most pristine and biologically diverse waterways.

In 2004, the conservancy used a large 3M Foundation grant to buy the original 1,160-acre Sharp-Bingham Preserve from Jackson County resident Horace Clemmons. It recently acquired 600 more acres from a different owner.

The unspoiled valley near the Madison-Jackson county line - there isn't a house in sight - is full of hard-to-find plants such as Morefield's leather flower, American smoketree and smooth woodmint. Its more than 30 caves are also teeming with life: Rafinesque's big-eared bats, rare Tennessee cave salamanders and blind crayfish.

Full Article

[Brian Roebuck]

The article mentions closing the tract for awhile to allow them to do research on the streams and caves etc. I suspect it may close the caves for cavers unitl that is all done. I am glad that such land is being saved from developers etc but am wondering who will continue to own it and take care of it in the long term. TNC often sells or donates to states and individuals etc and the extent of preservation become cloudy after that. Still it is good to keep it out of the greedy developers headlights.

[Sharon Faulkner]

While keeping the land out of the hands of developers is a positive step, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. The Nature Conservancy has become the largest landowner in number of caves in the U.S., outside of government agencies (i.e. NPS, BLM, USFW, etc.). With TNC's supporters outnumbering the NSS membership by hundreds of thousands and their enviable financial position they are poised to potentially become the most influential voice in cave conservation and management policies. Scary thought with their tendency to prefer gating caves over other cave management options.

One more reason to generously support the SCCi and other Cave Conservancies around the U.S. The caves you help purchase or lease thru conservancy donations may be the caves you have access to in the future.

[L Roebuck]

Hummmm.....the article didn't mention a developer - so I am still trying to understand what theNature Conservancy is 'saving' the Paint Rock River area from......

So after 3M gives them the grant and they aquire the Jackson Co. land do you think the Nature Conservancy will attempt to put cave gates on all 30 of those caves?

[Sharon Faulkner]

pretzlgirl said:

Hummmm.....the article didn't mention a developer - so I am still trying to understand what the Nature Conservancy is 'saving' the Paint Rock River area from......

Not sure about that Lynn. <shrug shoulders> Below is a reply given in 2006 by a caver working with TNC after someone asked about the area on the grotto remailer:

The Bingham Mountain/ Sharps Mountain area that you mentioned was owned by Horrace Clemmons until he sold it to the Nature Conservancy this year. As part of the closing, Horrace requested that the area continue to not have any recreational use to outside parties, such as caving or hunting. There is a very small hunting club that had access to that area prior to the sale and continues to have access to that area. There are also a group of cavers that have been working in that area as part of the Nature Conservancy's project to better understand the biological, hydrological, and geological processes that are going on in that area. I have been part of the project, helping to survey new caves in that area.

Essentially that area is considered closed to recreational caving. I have seen public forums where people have discussed going to visit some of the caves on that tract of land, but the area is gated and closed except for Nature Conservancy activities.

Here is some TNC contact information if anyone has questions regarding the latest acquisitions.

Huntsville Office 256-534-1038
Lynne Berry Associate Director of Community Relations

Southern Cumberlands Office 256-776-4800
Doug Fears Paint Rock Project Director

[L Roebuck]

The Bingham Mountain/ Sharps Mountain area that you mentioned was owned by Horrace Clemmons until he sold it to the Nature Conservancy this year. As part of the closing, Horrace requested that the area continue to not have any recreational use to outside parties, such as caving or hunting. There is a very small hunting club that had access to that area prior to the sale and continues to have access to that area. There are also a group of cavers that have been working in that area as part of the Nature Conservancy's project to better understand the biological, hydrological, and geological processes that are going on in that area. I have been part of the project, helping to survey new caves in that area.

Essentially that area is considered closed to recreational caving. I have seen public forums where people have discussed going to visit some of the caves on that tract of land, but the area is gated and closed except for Nature Conservancy activities.

So it seems the Nature Conservancy may be 'saving' the Paint Rock River area from .....er.....umm.... people?

[Sharon Faulkner]

pretzlgirl said:

So it seems the Nature Conservancy may be 'saving' the Paint Rock River area from .....er.....umm.... people?

That would appear to be the case....well, with the exception of the Alabama Cave Survey Director who is assisting TNC.

[L Roebuck]

Hummm.......for some reason this saga just reminds me of the Washington Post series of articles on the Nature Conservancy.

[Brad Tipton]

I used to donate money to TNC. Not any more. When I read this I got physically sick. There won't be any legal access to this area ever again. I never thought I would feel such disgust for any conservation based group. I hope that the remoteness of the area will prevent these commies from trying to physically gate any caves.

BTW......Sharon you said ACS director is helping them? Tom isn't still the ACS director is he?

[Sharon Faulkner]

bradtipton said:

BTW......Sharon you said ACS director is helping them?

Yes that's right. See the portion of text I quoted earlier in this thread.

bradtipton said:

Tom isn't still the ACS director is he?

No, Tom isn't. There are four ACS directors. The one I'm speaking of was elected in 2006. I was hoping this issue with TNC might be discussed further during the 2007 ACS Meeting.

[John Lovaas]

The Bingham Mountain/ Sharps Mountain area that you mentioned was owned by Horrace Clemmons until he sold it to the Nature Conservancy this year. As part of the closing, Horrace requested that the area continue to not have any recreational use to outside parties, such as caving or hunting.

Unless I'm reading things incorrectly, doesn't the above statement mean that Mr. Clemmons didn't want cavers on his land before TNC bought it? I mean, "continue to not have any recreational use" means that there wasn't recreational use allowed before.

It appears that Horrace Clemmons didn't want cavers on his land. Please prove me wrong, if I am confused by the grammar here.

[L Roebuck]

Here is the link to The Nature Conservancy " Alabama Year in Review 2006 " that I found today. The following ( link and article snippets) may add to the conversation -- or at least add more information to the discussion.

www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/alabama/files/annual_report_al_2006.pdf

Horace and Elizabeth Clemmons — Preserving Rare Cave Salamander Habitat

" Thanks to the generosity of Horace and Elizabeth Clemmons for selling the land to the Conservancy and to 3M Corporation and the Lyndhurst Foundation for donating the funds to make this acquisition possible, this large north Alabama landscape will be here to enchant future generations of explorers. "


More Than 1,500 Acres Protected in Jackson County to Benefit the Paint Rock River

" The Conservancy will transfer ownership of the property to the state of Alabama when funding becomes available so that generations of Alabamians will have access to this beautiful place. "

[Brad Tipton]

The only upside to this acquisition is that it will eventually be transferred to the Forever Wild program in the future. The State of Alabama will likely adopt less radical management plans for the property. Regardless of who manages the property it will likely remain wilderness forever. Development would never have become an issue in that area. The only people who will ever wander that area will be hunters and cavers. It's too remote.

I have recieved some emails concerning my views on the TNC subject which I will respond to privately. For everyone else I will clarify from my previous post.

I think the community should continue to reach out to the TNC and prevent a turf war if possible. I think if cavers make an enemy of the TNC that it would be a bad mistake on our part. I don't believe that cavers working for TNC when we could be working for the SCCi benefits organized cavers in the least. The SCCi represents organized cavers and is working overtime to benefit the caving community. The TNC has no such loyalties to us. I dislike the "no recreational use" policy the TNC has adopted for their properties. It makes no sense to me why any caver would be in favor of that policy.

I hope that every caver in this community realizes that in order to preserve our caves for the future, we must be more vigilant in our support of our own organizations. Not someone elses.

[Brian Roebuck]

Brad,
Thanks for your posts regarding this sensitive issue. No matter which organization is involved there will always be things they do or believe in that some of us don't support. That is your right and will be supported by this forum. I only wish that those people that messaged you privately regarding this issue would have posted their thoughts here on the forum as well.

I hope that in the end this all works out so that cavers will indeed have access to this area.

[Brad Tipton]

Since were are on the subject of helping small time organizations accomplish big time projects I wanted to share this with everyone here. This is an exceptional accomplishment by the Chattanooga Nature Center. My wife and I have been members for well over a decade. I didn't find out until today that the pups had born born over 2 months ago. Very exciting!

www.chattanature.org/redwolfpups.htm


Anyone who knows about the Red Wolf is probably aware that just 25 years ago they were extinct in the wild altogether. These 5 pups and the parents make up aproximately 5 percent of the worlds population. Oh and you can go see them, everyone, not just a select few.....