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Go DeeperThe Nature Conservancy in the Central Appalachians |
From Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains for generations have fueled neighboring urban centers to the east with timber, coal and iron. Today, however, many East Coast urbanites turn to Appalachia not so much for its stores of natural resources as for outdoor recreation and vacation homes.
Second-home development—often welcomed by local communities for the influx of jobs and money it brings—has begun to threaten large stretches of the region’s biologically rich forestlands.
One struggle is heating up in West Virginia, where The Nature Conservancy has purchased a 4,500-acre swath of biologically diverse forest at Beury Mountain, which is along the rim of the iconic New River Gorge. “If it was a little closer to developed areas, the owners probably would have sold it to developers,” says Randy Edwards, the Conservancy’s media relations manager in the central Appalachians. “But it was good for us to get ahead of this when we did, before pressure built up.”
Because the gorge runs as deep as 1,500 feet at points, it creates a broad variation of temperatures and moisture, which helps support a mix of southern and northern plant and animal species. While most of the land in the gorge is protected by the National Park Service, developers have begun building resort homes right up to the park boundaries along parts of the rim. “A lot of the land along the gorge is going to housing developments or private hunting clubs,” says Erin Haddix St. John, the local field representative of the National Parks Conservation Association, which is working to protect the gorge.
The Conservancy has been targeting other priority areas throughout the Appalachians to preserve the diverse forest habitat before it is developed. In Pennsylvania’s Monroe County, for example, the Conservancy recently partnered with several other conservation organizations to protect more than 500 acres from being cleared for a racetrack.
“The Conservancy preserved the Beury Mountain land before it was threatened, while it was still cheap,” says Haddix St. John. “If they can get more deals going like this one, it would be a big win for everyone.”
—Curtis Runyan
Nature picture credits: Photo © Bruce Burgin/Photographyart.com (To stave off development along the rim of West Virginia’s iconic New River Gorge, the Conservancy purchased a 4,500-acre tract of land near the Babcock Mill and Waterfall.)
