[TN-Bird] Rocky Fork Needs Your Vote
- From: "Robert Biller" <merlin42@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bristol-birds <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, tn-bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 08:44:30 -0400
*Rocky Fork is behind in the voting -- 2nd place by 1.4%. If you haven't
voted yet, please do -- Rocky Fork needs all the money we can send its way.
Details below...
Rob Biller
Elizabethton, Tn
Vote for a chance for SAHC to win a $3,000 grant for Rocky Fork *
In an effort to raise awareness of the great projects that land trusts are
doing across the state in support of *Land Trust Day*, the Great Outdoor
Provision Company has launched a *Land Trust Day* competition. They are
highlighting seven projects from seven different land trusts that are in
need of protection. Patagonia has agreed to the underwriting of a $3,000
grant to go towards the winning land trust project. The winning project will
be announced on *Land Trust Day*, June 7th.
ROCKY FORK is the project that SAHC submitted. For those of you that may not
be familiar, here is the latest news:
------
"To say this is a pleasant surprise would be an understatement." That's the
word from Executive Director Carl Silverstein upon hearing the news that
SAHC's Rocky Fork project is now ranked as the #1 national priority for
acquisition by the US Forest Service. "We were pretty excited last year
when Rocky Fork ranked as the top USFS priority in the region," Silverstein
continues, "but to work on the top project in the nation, as a
conservationist, it just doesn't get any better than that."
Nor does it get any more challenging. The 10,000 acre Rocky Fork tract has
been eyed by conservationists and developers alike for years because of its
size, its connection to 22,000 acres of protected land and its sheer scenic
beauty. "This tract is going to become the favorite place of the next
generation of Appalachian Trail users and outdoor enthusiasts," says Jay
Leutze, an SAHC board member who has traveled to Washington DC four times in
the last year to lobby for federal funds for the acquisition. "For
fly-fishing, hiking, mountain-bike riding, bird-watching and more, this vast
land is going to add a critical link to decades of successful land
protection. Purchasing it to give it to the public is just the right thing
to do for locals, and for the people of the United States."
Situated 34 miles from Asheville, NC, and 34 miles from Johnson City, TN,
astride the new I-26 highway, the $40 million dollar tract stands on what
might have been the next frontier of large-scale high-end development.
Instead, SAHC's partner, The Conservation Fund, has secured the site with
an option to buy the entire tract. "Getting site security on the entire
parcel, having the land under contract, is key," Silverstein adds. "But
closing the deal will still take a monumental effort involving private,
state and federal dollars."
It is not too much of a stretch to say that the top conservation project in
the country will require the top fund-raising effort, too. "SAHC grows
every year," says Leutze. "Our members want to know that we are capable of
protecting the landscapes we all cherish. As a result we've gotten very
strategic about pursuing our priorities, increased our capacity through
partnerships and member-drives, and worked at building relationships from
Asheville to Nashville, and all the way to Capitol Hill." Silverstein adds
this: "We won't celebrate until the deal is closed, but we're confident that
the work we've done on Rocky Fork is going to pay off."
--------
*Below is GOPC's website page with the Land Trust Day project competition
descriptions.
**VOTE FOR ROCKY FORK!
**http://greatoutdoorprovision.com/culture/wesupport/patagonia-land-grant/ *
Cheryl Fowler
Operations Director
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
828-253-0095, ext. 200
34 Wall Street, Ste. 502
Asheville, NC 28801
* appalachian .org*
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