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Finding salamanders in the wild is a muddy business. The wriggly little amphibians hide under rocks, fallen tree limbs and other generally sloppy nooks.

And as biology students from Maryville College, under the tutelage of teacher Paul Threadgill, underwent a recent mission to locate and catalog the elusive critters at Camp Montvale, the day's activities took on a deeper mission.

First and foremost, the trek was meant to show the Maryville College students where the animals are and how easily an experience like this could be applied in their own classrooms.

"One of (the goals) is to give them a little field experience with the animals," Threadgill said. "And second of all, it's something that I anticipate they would be able to do with their own students in the future."

But at the same time, recording the types of animals that live in and around the area will go a long way toward the establishment of a development-free zone for Camp Montvale and preserve it for generations to come.

In December 2006, Harmony Property Group purchased the more than 400 acres that make up the camp. It had closed earlier in the year after operating since 1948 as a camp under the East Tennessee YMCA.

The property's history goes back much further. It served as a popular attraction as early as the mid-1800s for medical tourists who came from as far away as England for the scenery and mineral springs at Montvale.

Ed Clebsch, a project manager with the Foothills Land Conservancy, accompanied the Maryville College students on their quest for salamanders. When Harmony purchased the land, they contacted the conservancy with the idea of a conservation easement for much of the natural area around the developed camp.

A conservation easement would be a perpetual agreement which would prevent development in the area, Clebsch said. That includes residential or commercial developments, mining, dumping and any other pollution-creating activities — depending on the terms of the easement. Even subsequent property owners would be bound to the easement.

"(The conservancy) would take on the obligation for stewardship forever," Clebsch said.

The area is made up of older-growth trees, which are becoming more and more rare in East Tennessee.

A lot of the naturalized property surrounding Camp Montvale is on steep slopes, which wouldn't seem to lend themselves to development in the first place, but that doesn't mean someone might not want to try, Clebsch said.

"That used to be true," he said of difficulty building on this kind of terrain. "But you can see where (developers) are hanging houses now."

Due to the tax implications of establishing a conservation easement, a survey of the area has to be done to rationalize the designation, Clebsch said. Getting help from Threadgill's students will be a big help.

In between rolling over logs and tumbling rocks onto their sides, Maryville College Junior Andrew Hackett said he was glad to be a part of the trip for a couple of reasons.

"(It is) significantly better than being lectured at in class," he said with a laugh. "I'm actually having a good time."

More seriously though, he was glad to know that the work he and his classmates did that afternoon would be used to help preserve the forest. Particularly, he liked the idea of stemming development.

"There are already too many developments in the area," he said.

Future elementary school teacher Sheri Lovegrove, also a junior, felt that keeping Camp Montvale intact was important for the present. But also, because she would like to bring her students there in years to come, making sure the forest doesn't turn into a row of condominiums is also a big deal.

"The kids would love this," she said. "I think that's really important."

Securing the future

Bryan Roberson, president of the Friends of Camp Montvale, said his group's main purpose is to reopen the camp. The conservation easement fits perfectly into that goal, he said.

"Securing and protecting the future of the camp was also a part of that same package," he said.

The hope is the easements will be in place by the end of 2007 — with 50-100 acres of land included in them. "Some of that is still in the development phase," he said. "(But) everything that is naturalized right now, basically, is going to stay that way."

For Harmony Property Group, which would be voluntarily giving up its right to develop the land — and in that, give up any profits from development — this is a chance to give back to the community, Roberson said.

"What they saw was an opportunity to save an historic site," he said. "They understood that it's a facility, basically, with land prices the way they are today, (that) could never be replaced."

The company will benefit from the easement, Roberson said, but the sacrifice they are making is much larger.

"They do get some tax benefits from placing (the property) into easements," he said. "(But) I do know what they are getting out of it is not as much as they've put in it.

"They see it as a way for them to funnel their philanthropy efforts."