Save Our Dogs Campaign - Foothills Land Conservancy

12/31/2022

What does 140,000 acres look like?

This year, Foothills Land Conservancy celebrates 37 years as a regional land trust. With the help of our Friends of the Foothills, FLC has assisted in the preservation of 140,000 acres of public and private land to date! What does that look like?

It's roughly the size of 2 Knoxville's!

or

The size Atlanta + an additional 82 square miles!

or

The total acreage of these Tennessee State Parks:

Fall Creek Falls State Park & Natural Area
Frozen Head State Park
South Cumberland State Park
Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park
Natchez Trace State Park

And....

In 2022, FLC's Board, Staff and our Friends of the Foothills have protected the size of Roan Mountain State Park with a total of 2,045 acres!

Let's keep the momentum going! FLC has several conservation projects already underway for 2023, but we need your help. There is still time to make a year-end gift, helping to expand FLC's land conservation efforts across the southeast!
https://bit.ly/3WA2CFP

12/29/2022

FLC has partnered with landowners to preserve another working farm in Jefferson County, TN, this year!

Foothills recently completed another conservation project on a 139 acre working farm, currently being utilized for growing row crops like soybean and corn. The tract is being preserved for its scenic open space pastures which offer views from public roadways, its prime agricultural soils, and for the protection of its relatively natural habitat for plant and wildlife species. It will also help to serve as a buffer for preserved land containing unique ecosystems in the area and protect the rural character of the area, which is under development pressure from urban sprawl.
Within the last 12 months, FLC has also worked with landowners to preserve two other working farms in Jefferson County. Check out their stories below:

Kramer Farm - 121 acres of Jefferson County, TN, farmland permanently preserved https://bit.ly/3YWNdkt

Savage Property (Dancing Winds Wildlife Sanctuary and Arboretum) - 131 acres in Jefferson County, TN, now preserved!
https://bit.ly/3YZWvfB

12/19/2022

FLC recently partnered with landowners to preserve their 71 acre property in Knox County, TN!

This diverse 71.56-acre property is situated within Knox County’s Bull Run Creek valley, which has been the focus of extensive conservation work by Foothills. Over 675 acres have already protected by FLC conservation easements in the valley and a total of 750+ acres protected by Foothills within 10 miles.

Preserving this tract serves as a buffer to the other preserved lands that provide unique ecosystems and assist in the protection of the area’s rural character, which is under development pressure from urban sprawl. This tranquil property includes open space, forest, and pastures, offering scenic views to a public roadway and surrounding countryside.

The Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV) partnership has identified 70 Priority Bird Species for the Appalachian Mountains Bird Conservation Region, the majority of which are land birds. These species either breed or winter in the Appalachian region. Of these 70 priority species, four were observed on the property: Field Sparrow (High Priority), Eastern Wood-pewee, Eastern Towhee, and Summer Tanager (Moderate Priority). The Field Sparrow and is also considered to be Common Birds in Steep Decline.



Info about FLC Conservation Easements:
http://www.foothillsland.org/program.../land-protection/

12/08/2022

121 Acres of Jefferson County, TN farmland permanently preserved!

STRAWBERRY PLAINS, TENNESSEE—"Can you see the Sleeping Lady?” We are standing on the back porch of the historic Isaac McBee House, built in 1850, and I follow Jack Kramer’s gaze across the back lawn, over McBee Island flanked by the cold March waters of the Holston River, to the mountains in the distance. “She’s easier to see this time of year,” he says, because those distant hills are unobscured by the foliage of trees still nakedly waiting for spring. Indeed, I can see her—she lies with her head to the west and her toes stretched out to the east, the hills forming the rise and fall of her body.

This porch, and the other accoutrements that fill the Isaac McBee house, are the centerpiece of this 121-acre farm in Jefferson County, Tennessee, but this is not the only treasure to be found here. A short walk along a gravel road through the farm finds me between the river bottom pastures and a steep rocky slope, and it happens to be the perfect time of year for the latter to become adorned in the ephemeral wildflowers that signal that winter is loosening its grip on the landscape. Dutchman’s breeches, yellow trout lilies, trilliums, wild blue phlox, and twinleaf have exploded from the leaf litter, and if it were not for the ambient mooing of cattle, I would think I had stumbled into a rich mountain forest. Agriculture is certainly of conservation importance, and Foothills Land Conservancy has worked to preserve many acres of farmland, but this pocket of biodiversity is a surprising treat.

Read the full release here: https://bit.ly/3FcxpBg

11/30/2022

A big thank you to our Friends of the Foothills!

Because of your generous support, Foothills Land Conservancy has received a total of $7,700 towards our land conservation programs this Giving Tuesday!!!

FLC is in the forever business and that means preserving and stewarding the Harris Farm (pictured) and the other 350+ properties we are committed to protecting throughout the Southeast region. Your support makes this possible!

11/29/2022

Double your impact on this Giving Tuesday!
Foothills Land Conservancy to receive $5,000 in matching funds!

The FLC Properties Foundation, a supporting organization for the Conservancy, has offered a $5,000 match for donations made on this Giving Tuesday to help further FLC's mission to protect, promote the lands and environments of the Southern Appalachian region.

Don't forget to like and share this post!

Your gift today makes a visible difference in perpetuity! The FLC Properties Foundation, a supporting organization for the Conservancy, has offered a $5,000 match for donations made on this Giving Tuesday to help further FLC's mission to protect, promote the lands and environments of the Southern...

11/28/2022

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow and it's your chance to help Foothills Land Conservancy double our impact with $5,000 in matching funds! All to support FLC's mission of protecting, preserving, and enhancing the lands and environments of the Southern Appalachian region.

We asked Friend of the Foothills, Lynn Waters, why he supports our organization.

"As an FLC Board Member and local farmer it’s important to me that I have a voice and support an organization working to preserve what can be preserved. Open land draws people here. As our region becomes increasingly popular, it’s imperative we retain prime agricultural soils and support farming."

With the tremendous investment of donors like you and Lynn, our Friends of the Foothills have assisted in the preservation of 140,000+ acres and 350 land preservation partnerships across the southeast!

Please join us in supporting what simply cannot wait and help us expand Foothills' land conservation efforts across the southeast.

Join us tomorrow as we kick off Giving Tuesday!
https://bit.ly/3ENlqtP

- Donate and/or start your own fundraising page! https://bit.ly/3Vrqg6M

11/25/2022

On Giving Tuesday... An opportunity to double your impact for FLC's land conservation efforts across the southeast!

The FLC Properties Foundation, a supporting organization for the Conservancy, has offered a $5,000 match for donations made on this Giving Tuesday to help further FLC's mission to protect, promote, and enhance the lands and environments of the Southern Appalachian region.

FLC is also participating in the United Way's for Giving Tuesday. Visit our page on their site to make a donation or even create your own fundraising appeal for family and friends today. https://www.biggiveknox.org/organizations/foothills-land-conservancy

For more info on ways to support the Conservancy, click here: https://foothillsland.dm.networkforgood.com/emails/this-giving-tuesday-an-opportunity-to-double-your-impact-for-flc-s-land-conservation-efforts-across-the-southeast

As we take time to give thanks this week and throughout the holiday season the Foothills staff would like to offer our appreciation to our Friends of the Foothills. You are our partners in land conservation and with your support the Conservancy has preserved over 140,000 acres across the southeast!

11/23/2022

As we take time to give thanks this week and throughout the holiday season, the Foothills staff would like to offer our appreciation to our Friends of the Foothills. You are our partners in land conservation and with your support FLC has preserved over 140,000 acres across the southeast!

This month FLC continues to profile projects involving the preservation of working farms, including this beautiful 92 acre working farm in Blount County, TN. The property, which has been in use as a farm since the end of World War II, includes a mix of agricultural land, forest, and scenic open space. Within five miles of the farm there are over 1,700 acres currently in conservation easements held by the Foothills Land Conservancy.

11/17/2022

This month FLC staff is highlighting our efforts to preserve the southeast region’s working farms and agricultural practices.

In 2021, FLC partnered with a farmer to preserve close to 650 acres in Hickman County, Kentucky. The tract includes cultivated cropland along with a pond, small creeks, and small wooded areas. The property’s primary use as agricultural land yields scenic, pastoral views of the rural, open countryside and gently rolling hills indicative of western Kentucky and the Loess Plains Ecoregion.

Observed birds included the American crow, mallard, red-tailed hawk, and wild turkey. Snow geese and other migratory waterfowl use agricultural lands in the region as stopovers during winter. We've placed two short videos in the comments section taken of the snow geese during a site visit in February 2021. Click here to read more about this project: https://bit.ly/3UURan8

Back in 2018, FLC worked with the same landowner to preserve another 600 acre working farm in Lake County, TN. That property is also located close to the Mississippi River and is in close proximity to Reelfoot Lake Wildlife Management Area. Click here to learn more about this farm. https://bit.ly/3gkcNyp

11/09/2022

The FLC Team is looking forward to tonight's presentation as part of Discover Life in America Conservation on Tap series!

We hope you can join us at the Albright Grove Brewing Co. at 7pm!

https://dlia.org/event/conservation-on-tap-nov/