Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy
| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Lela McBride, Anne Ulinski, John Humphrey |
| Location | |
|
Area served
|
Henderson and Transylvania Counties of North Carolina |
| Method | Conservation |
|
Key people
|
Kieran C. Roe, executive director |
|
Employees
|
15 Full Time and 5 AmeriCorps members |
| Slogan | "Saving The Places You Love" |
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy Is a non-profit conservation organization working to preserve water and land resources in Western North Carolina. CMLC is an example of a land trust, or an organization that engages in conservation efforts through acquisition of deeded land and conservation and farm easements.
The Conservancy began with a 1991 survey proposed by Lela McBride and the Hendersonville League of Women Voters to determine the natural areas of Henderson County worth protecting. The survey determined that the mountain bogs, dense forests, and scenic mountain peaks surrounding Hendersonville were valuable resources worthy of conservation efforts. In 1994 the Natural Heritage Trust of Henderson County was formed and a year later it was renamed the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and has expanded its area of focus to include Transylvania and parts of Buncombe, Rutherford, and Jackson Counties. The organization immediately began working with local landowners to protect farm, forest, park, and natural lands with the support of local community members. Since its creation, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy has grown to be one of the premier land conservancies in the South East, protecting some 18,000 acres (73 km2) of land, and is a fully accredited land trust under the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
The Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy works with various sectors of society including businesses, individuals, communities, partner organizations, and government agencies to achieve its goals. CMLC uses a mix of financial incentives along with the good will of conservation minded land owners to preserve land from development.
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy has pioneered the use of conservation easements in Henderson and Transylvania Counties. A conservation easement is a way for land owners to ensure that their land remains in its natural state while capitalizing on some of the land's potential development value. CMLC also works with the North Carolina Division of State Parks and other government partners to acquire land for sites such as Chimney Rock State Park.
The World's Edge Property was a 2005, $16 million joint effort between the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, along with The Nature Conservancy to save some 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of a non-contiguous property spanning across Henderson, Polk, and Rutherford counties. The Worlds Edge Property, formerly owned by The Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation, contains over 20,000 feet (6,100 m) of streams and waterfalls, in addition to numerous endangered salamander, bird, and bat species. In December 2009, CMLC acquired the 1,527-acre (6.18 km2) Weed Patch Mountain tract north of Lake Lure, which adds to the corridor of conserved land including the State Park.
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