The Inside Story of "Connecting the Cumberlands"
An innovative, public/private partnership that will preserve 127,000 acres
Photo from Frozen Head State Park web site
41st Annual Meeting
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness PlanningSaturday, December 1, 2007, 9:30 a.m. (EST)
Morgan County Courthouse, Wartburg, TennesseeSpeakers:
Scott Davis, Director of the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
Marie Stringer Yeagle, Executive Director of the Tennessee Natural Heritage Trust Foundation and chief project liaison for the state
About 200 square miles of forest in the biologically diverse Northern Cumberland Mountains/Cumberland Plateau were recently protected by an innovative partnership between the State of Tennessee, The Nature Conservancy, and two timber companies. According to The Nature Conservancy, this deal that links forest lands in Scott, Campbell, Anderson, and Morgan Counties with 66,000 acres of existing public lands is the "largest conservation project in Tennessee since the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." This continuous swath of protected land stretches from Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area and the Emory River northeast through the Sundquist Wildlife Management Area, almost to the Kentucky border, providing a natural corridor for diverse wildlife, protecting water quality in the New River and Emory River watersheds, and expanding access for public recreation, while sustaining a forest-linked economy.
Agenda (Eastern Standard Times):
9:30 Registration, coffee
10:00 Welcome, introductions
10:15 Connecting the Cumberlands - Scott Davis and Marie Stringer Yeagle
11:00 TCWP business meeting
11:30 Lunch
1:00 Hike Judge Branch Loop at Frozen Head or
tour newly refurbished Lilly Bluff Overlook
Registration: $17, including lunch
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