[Bristol-Birds] Tennessee Eastman President and CEO building home at former Sutter Pond in east Bristol TN

From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 16:31:44 -0400
Of a curious note for birders, we have pointed out recently that the site
known as Sutter Pond to birders,

which is located near Middlebrook Lake in east Bristol in Sullivan County,
TN, has changed ownership.

It has been a frequently-birded waterfowl location for nearly 20 years or
more.

 

Mark J. Costa, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee
Eastman Company has bought

the Sutter Pond property.  The Sutter house has been taken down and a
construction company from

Kingsport is now on the site with workers making preparations to build a new
home there for

the Coasta's (Mark and and Gita and their young family).  Mark is said to be
a very outdoors-type 

person and enjoys hiking and mountain biking.

 

The brick posts at the causeway leading across to the long driveway up to
the house site have been

removed.

 

Mrs. Sutter moved down the road three miles to a subdivision and new home.

 

We are trying to to change our birding references to this location from
Sutter Pond to Nicely Branch

Lake in order to get a more permanent identification and geographical
identity so we can have

continuity as any such sites change ownership.  The Sutter address, name,
gate post with Sutter and

all are already gone.  The state of Tennessee does recognize the dam on
Nicely Branch on its flood

maps.

 

The property is in the foothills of the 570-acre nature preserve created
adjacent to the Bristol Tennessee

City limits.

 

Nicely Branch flows more than 2 miles thru the dam and a riparian area of
the preserve.

 

Peoples Pond, which has been known to Bristol area birders as an outstanding


winter  waterfowl habitat of about 5 acres in size, is included in the north
area of 

the preserve.  It is located about one-half mile south of the Nicely Branch
Lake where the White Ibis 

was found  by  young Elizabeth Oakley in 2009. 

 

The preserve property has a nice network of 4-wheel drive roads, open
fields, mixed 

hardwoods in the Ridge and Valley province of the 

state. It  is a component of the more extensive Paperville Knobs and the
preserve has

elevation relief between about 2100 feet ridge top down to the confluence of


Nicely  Branch with Sinking Creek at approximately 1640 feet along
Paperville Rd.

 

The land was left in the estate of Marian B. Peoples who lived on the land
and 

was the  widow of Hansel Peoples, a well-known Bristol businessman.  She
left it to the 

protection  of an area conservationists and an attorney to be established
and managed as

a legal nature preserve.  One of the provisions of the preserve stipulates
that no hunting will be 

allowed.

 

Peoples Pond was a long-time significant part of the Bristol Christmas 

Bird Count during  the period 1970-1990 but birders were not allowed on the
property to bird the 

pond.  

 

On 30 Dec 2007, the first party of birders to enter the large tract for
birding  was allowed access

by one of the conservationists.  On that date, Kevin Hamed, Andy Jones,
Chris O'Bryan, Charlie Parker, 

Ellen Parker, Michele Sparks and Wallace Coffey were  granted access to the
preserve during the 

Bristol Christmas Bird Count.  Part of the count  was by foot in the open
fields, walking to bird from 

the shoreline of the pond and traveling with  4-wheel-drive over some roads
and open fields.

 

Let's go birding . . . .

 

Wallace Coffey

Bristol, TN

nature preserve near sutter pond.jpg
[Bristol-Birds] Tennessee Eastman President and CEO building home at former Sutter Pond in east Bristol TN

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