ASHEVILLE, N.C .â The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has announced a future land acquisition of approximately 7,500 acres of land in the Roan Highlands. The land is being acquired from a conservation philanthropist.
The tract lies within the southern end of the planning boundary of the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area, a special conservation area designated by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2008 to protect the area.
The donation consists of dozens of separate-but-contiguous land holdings which extend up the mountain to 5,300 feet in elevation, straddling the border of Avery and Mitchell counties in Western North Carolina. It supports numerous threatened and endangered plant and animal species and features some of the most extraordinary scenery in the eastern United States. The property includes the largest American Chestnut restoration project in the country, extensive border fields, rich coves, old growth forests, six waterfalls and a system of rare heat
ASHEVILLE â Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) announced last week that it has signed a letter of intent to accept the donation of approximately 7,500 acres of land in the Roan Highlands landscape from a conservation philanthropist. The tract lies within the southern end of the planning boundary of the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area, a special conservation area designated by the NC General Assembly in 2008 to protect the exceptional natural features found there.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is identified as donor of the property, keeping rare plant and animal habitat and prized natural features from development. The donation is the largest in the conservancyâs 47-year history and one of the biggest ever made to a land trust in the state.