Dear Neighbor,

My husband, David, and I recently received a postcard from a Cashiers realtor informing us about the sale of a 246 acre tract of land up in the Big Ridge area of western North Carolina. We own a 99 acre parcel adjacent to this land, which we affectionately call “Slatten Creek”. We have found out that your company was the purchaser of this property, as well as several other large adjacent tracts, and so we would like to introduce ourselves as your new “neighbors”. We live in Savannah full time, but we have a cabin about one mile away from Slatten Creek. We travel up to our property every chance that we get, and one day hope to live up there full time.

The tracts of land that your company now owns up in Big Ridge are absolutely beautiful pieces of property. Approximately eight or nine years ago, I had the pleasure of touring these properties when they were previously for sale. I remember one section, called the “Hooper” tract, which was covered in large, old growth trees. I also remember the beauty of the tract called the “Bear Creek / Hennessee” tract, with its myriad of streams and springs, along with a few bear footprints along the ground. Occasionally, I have hiked the paved road up to the top of Big Knob while visiting Slatten Creek, to enjoy the spectacular view.

As you are probably aware, all of your tracts of land up in Big Ridge were once slated to become U.S. Forest Service property. You have most likely seen the Forest Service signs that still adorn the property boundaries. However, several weeks prior to the closing date, the deal fell through due to financing issues.

David and I are very attached to our property, so much so that we recently placed our land in a conservation easement with the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee. Our land is an important watershed area, filled with springs and streams. It is also a prime example of a high elevation mountain farm. Our research indicates it was settled as early as the mid-1800s by an individual named John Slatten and his wife and eight children. It is believed the Slatten family was one of three families who originally settled this area of Jackson County and made their living off subsistence farming. Judging from the amount of arrowheads and other Native American artifacts that can be found, this area was also an important area to the Cherokee indians.

I have taken numerous photographs of the wildlife and of the plant life up there, and have found that this area is home to a number of important and threatened species. Some of my favorite plant species I have found include a field of pink and yellow lady slipper orchids, and several large Turk’s Cap Lilies. I would love to share some of these pictures with you, and have taken the liberty of including a few pictures along with this letter. There seems to be evidence that bears come to our pond in the summer to cool off and take a “bath”. However, I have yet to capture that on film.

In any event, I wanted to touch base with you to let you know who we are, and to hopefully establish contact with you. Your land is environmentally significant - not only is it close in proximity to Panthertown Valley National Forest and the Robinson Creek Gorge, but it serves as the headwaters to the Little Tennessee River watershed. It is also one of the last, if not the only last, large swatch of undeveloped ridge line in the Big Ridge area of Jackson County.

I would love to meet you in person, if at all possible. If you are interested in talking to me about conservation easements, I can hopefully answer any questions you might have. As I am sure you already know, conservation easements not only protect land, but provide very significant tax advantages to the grantor of the easement.

You may call me at any time at the phone numbers I have sent to you. I hope I haven’t been too forward in introducing myself. David and I just love this area of North Carolina, and we are passionate advocates for preserving its beauty. Take care, and I hope to meet you soon.

Sincerely,



Laura W. Adams



David and Pup on their way to Slatten Creek




View Along the Road to Slatten Creek



Field of Yellow Lady Slipper Orchids




Eight Foot Tall Turk's Cap Lilies





Black Bear by Slatten Pond

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: