Our conservation easement recently made the news in Sylva, NC:
Big Ridge tract put into conservation easement
By Justin Goble
A couple has taken steps to keep a large tract of land near Glenville from being developed.
Laura and David Adams placed their 98-acre tract of land near Big Ridge into a conservation easement with the Land Trust of Little Tennessee in December of last year.
A conservation easement is a voluntary process by which landowners chooses to limit the development rights on their property. Every conservation easement is unique to the property and the landowners. According to Kate Parkerson with the LTLT, the Adams retained the right to build a house and barn on their property and to farm the land.
The conservation easement will protect and preserve in perpetuity the water quality and aquatic values; forest, wildlife, and natural heritage values; scenic views; and ecological values of this beautiful property, Parkerson said.

David and Laura Adams, owners of this 98-acre tract in Big Ridge, recently announced their decision to put the land in a conservation easement with the Land Trust of the Little Tennessee. The couple is voluntarily giving up development rights for the property, and aside from building a house and minor renovations, the land will not be disturbed. The agreement runs “in perpetuity,” meaning it remains in place even if the Adams decide to sell the property. “Big Ridge has gotten a lot of bad press lately,” Laura Adams said. “Our land is one of the last undeveloped ridgetops in the area and we thought it was worth protecting.”

“Our responsibility will be to uphold that agreement,” Parkerson said. “We’ll be able to use the land for educational purposes, but the Adams still own it. They will be able to build a home on the land, refurbish the cabin, plant crops – things like that. But it can’t be subjected to major development, even if the Adams decide to sell it.”
Parkerson said it’s not very often that individuals put such large parcels in conservation easements.
“It’s a huge deal,” she said. “We’re certainly pleased that the Adams feel that strongly about conservation. Both of them are so passionate in their feelings about land conservation values. Laura is an artist and has done incredible artwork based just on their property. It’s always heartwarming for people like the Adams to make that statement – especially when you have the contrast of all the development going on just across the ridge.”
The site is close to four state-designated Significant Natural Heritage Areas that contain numerous rare species and exemplary or unique natural communities, including Robinson Creek Gorge and Panthertown Valley.
The property includes more than a mile of streams, a 1.5-acre pond and numerous springs. The springs and streams are the headwaters of Slatten Branch, which is a tributary of Robinson Creek, a classified trout water, which feeds into Bear Lake.
“When we bought that property, we fell in love with it,” Laura Adams said. “It’s a wonderful example of an old mountain farm. We thought it was just a special place. We traced the cabin to the early 1800s. Some of the families that lived there were among the first to settle in Jackson County.
“By entering into this agreement, we wanted to try and preserve what we could of a disappearing mountain landscape,” she said. “There aren’t many places like this left. Big Ridge has become more and more developed, and we hope to be a bit of a leader in that area. Hopefully an agreement like ours will get people more interested in looking at land trusts. We’re just hoping to help spur on more conservation in the area.”
Laura Adams said she and her husband researched land trusts throughout the area before deciding to enter into an agreement with LTLT. The couple wanted to make sure the organization they worked with wouldn’t kowtow to developers in the area.
“What we found out is that there aren’t that many that focused on the Big Ridge area,” she said. “They all have own little areas. What we wanted was to find one that was proactive. The LTLT went out and conserved a lot of land in a little time. They’re not a ‘developer-friendly’ organization. They are genuinely interested in protecting the watershed and things like that. We sat down and basically interviewed people from the LTLT and found out they had the same goals as we did as far as preserving the land.”
The Adams’ property borders what was once slated to be a 3,000-plus acre addition to Roy Taylor National Forest, Parkerson said. Though that deal fell through, the Adams said they hope their conservation easement would have a positive impact.
“With all the pressures exerted on the existing Panthertown Valley today, that additional acreage would really be a plus, not to mention the protection it would have provided to a pristine watershed feeding into Bear Lake,” David Adams said.
“It’s such a shame that’s not going to be part of Panthertown forest,” Laura Adams said. “(We’re) hoping some of the owners of these big tracts around us will help set an example and conserve some of their land as well. It’s something that is very important to us.”
In conjunction with the announcement of the conservation easement, the LTLT is sponsoring an exhibit of the collage artwork of Laura Adams entitled “Bee Balms to Bears: The Conservation of a High Mountain Farm” at The Artists’ House Too gallery in Bryson City.
The works on display show her love for the land and conservation in action, Parkerson said.
“It’s a very inspirational place,” Laura Adams said. “There’s so much beauty up there. It’s a wonderful place to express my art. It’s be nice to know that in 100 years it will look the same way and hopefully some other artist will look at it and find the same beauty.”
Since 1997, the Franklin-based LTLT has conserved more than 10,000 acres in the six-county region that it serves – Jackson, Macon, Swain, Graham, Clay and Cherokee.
For more information about LTLT or conservation easements, call LTLT at (828) 524-2711 or visit online at www.ltlt.org. To view some of Laura Adams’ artwork, visit www.laurawadams.com.
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I am also very proud of my mixed doubles team, led by our fearless Captain Chris, for winning the Georgia State Mixed Doubles tournament last weekend. Go Team!!! Now we're on to New Orleans in October for the regional tournament.

For more pictures, please see:
http://www.mixed.ustageorgia.com/champions_finalist.htm



The Winning Team




A high five with Matthew after a tough win

Big smiles with Wes after pulling out the third set tiebreaker!


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And last but not least, Savannah Magazine included an article about my artwork in its recent "Creative Edition" July - August, 2008: