The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: tenngreen

springcreekPreservation of the Spring Creek watershed near Cedars of Lebanon State Park will protect water resources in a rapidly growing part of the Southeast.  TennGreen Land ConservancyTennessee cave salamanders, other wildlife will benefit from creation of unique preserve

LEBANON — TennGreen Land Conservancy joined with Headwaters Reserve LLC to protect and restore a high-risk stream habitat adjacent to Cedars of Lebanon State Park. Located on approximately 47 acres, the property’s streams and wetlands are protected by a conservation easement held by TennGreen in perpetuity.

The waters of this property, called Cedar Forest, are within the Spring Creek watershed, which has been noted to contain more than 28 rare species, including the Tennessee cave salamander (Gyrinophilus palleucus).

Stream restoration, a vital process that breathes new life into natural aquatic environments, is a key objective of this conservation easement, offering numerous benefits to both wildlife and the community.

This permanent protection and intentional restoration will help to remove pollutants from waters in one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties while protecting the resource for generations to come.

TennGreen has previously conserved land in the area to expand Cedars of Lebanon State Park and Natural Area and Cedars of Lebanon State Forest.

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Union Grove Cover TennGreenTennessee trillium is among the beneficiaries of a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the land conservancy TennGreen that protected the rare flower’s limited habitat in Hamblen County, Tenn.  Photo illustration courtesy of TennGreen

60-acre Union Grove acquisition marks first protection of imperiled Tennessee trillium, unknown to scientists until only 2013

MORRISTOWN — In May 2023, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) alerted TennGreen Land Conservancy that a 60-acre swath of land nestled in the forests of Hamblen County known as Union Grove was for sale in East Tennessee. Most interestingly: The property contains some of the only known populations of a native trillium that were described for the first time only 20 years ago.

Union Grove’s owner first alerted University of Tennessee botanists and researchers to the unusual trillium in hopes of safeguarding both the wildflowers and the forests they live within. The botanists realized the trillium was nothing they nor other botanists had encountered and described it as “new to science” in 2013. To date, the Tennessee trillium (Trillium tennesseense) has only been found in the Bays Mountain formation areas in Hamblen and Hawkins counties.

Until this successful collaboration, Trillium tennesseense existed only in private, unprotected areas such as the project landowner’s property. The landowner was moving out of Tennessee, and wished to sell their property to an organization that would value it and seek to protect its incredible habitat. TennGreen Land Conservancy stepped in to quickly acquire the property.

TennGreen then transferred the property to TDEC in June 2024. 

Published in News
Wednesday, 27 September 2023 11:57

Down the river toward a distant creek

IMG_9118.jpegLaunching a raft for the rapids on the Ocoee River to raise awareness for TennGreen’s effort to acquire land along Clear Creek in Morgan County.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press 

A raft trip on the Ocoee helped save faraway Clear Creek

DUCKTOWN — We threw our backs into paddling as the raft dipped and crested.

We were on the Ocoee River in southeastern Tennessee, but Clear Creek, 118 miles away in Morgan County, was the reason for the occasion.

I joined the group, some of whom were staying in nearby cabins overnight, for rafting and a cookout.

It was part of a TennGreen push to buy and preserve 180 acres of land along Clear Creek. It will then sell 23 of those acres, which includes a house. It will donate the rest to the Obed Wild and Scenic River, an adjoining federal conservation area.

Cool water deluged us, rapid after rapid. In one case we spun with momentum. We high-fived with our paddles when we hit clear spots after a successful run.

That evening, we unwound with hot dogs, burgers both vegetarian and meat, potato salad and s’mores among other treats at the Cabins at Copperhill.

TennGreen Deputy director Christie Henderson said buying the Clear Creek land would allow for a connected wilderness area in which plants and animals could have a safe corridor. It also would preserve the view of the night sky from potential light from new houses. 

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