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About 23,700 acres will be protected by the end of this year -- leaving 1,300 to go in the next.

That's where the Foothills Land Conservancy stands in its 25-in-25 campaign.

The initiative was launched in 2007 by the conservancy to preserve 25,000 acres from residential and commercial development by it's 25-year anniversary in 2010.

Thanks to two Blount County families, the goal came 814 acres closer Thursday.

Charles Lunsford and Gail Harris signed paperwork to preserve their family homesteads as conservation easements during the conservancy's annual meeting at Dancing Bear Lodge in Townsend.

Also, Harris and her late husband, James C. Harris, were named as winners of the Conservationist of the Year award. The honor is richly deserved.

A founding board member of the Foothills Land Conservancy, Gail Harris has worked for years to preserve the family land for posterity. The 314-acre Harris property is a working farm located between Rockford and Wildwood.

The acreage has been in the Harris family since the 1800s. The couple operated a dairy on the property for 20 years and grew a variety of crops. They'd watched as other Blount County farms disappeared. Croplands and pastures were replaced by roads and buildings. The Harrises were determined to preserve their property. On Thursday it happened.

Gail Harris plans to will the land to the conservancy and have it continue to operate as a working farm. Executive Director Bill Clabough said the conservancy has long envisioned having a working farm as part of its easement.

The Lunsford property is a 500-acre site on the opposite side of Blount County -- truly in the foothills.

Located on the U.S. 129 side of Chilhowee Mountain near Tallassee, the land abuts a nearly 5,000-acre wildlife management area that is described by Clabough as "a corridor for the wildlife to run" from Montvale down to U.S. 129.

The property is owned by Charles Lunsford's sons, William and Wesley. The commitment of the land is by them; their father administers the trust. The younger Lunsfords are making the gift in honor of their grandmother, whose family owned the property for four generations.

For both families, the lands are being protected for environmental preservation reasons as well as family legacies.

The Lunsfords and the Harrises are to be commended for their generosity, respected for their commitment and admired for their foresight. They are confirmation that Blount Countians plant their family roots deep in the soil of these foothills.

A reminder: Foothills Land Conservancy is an organization of the people, by the people and for the people -- but it is not affiliated with any local, state or federal government.

However, the conservancy is about to lose a government break. This is the last year the federal government will give a tax deduction for people who donate their land in the form of a conservation easement. The tax deduction is set to run out on Dec. 31. Clabough said there is still time for anyone interested in granting an easement to work with the conservancy.

You can contact the Foothills Land Conservancy on the Web at www.foothillsland.org or by phone at (865) 681-8326. It is located at 373 Ellis Ave., Maryville, TN 37804.

Think about it. Maybe your family can leave a legacy of land. Could there be a more enduring Christmas present? Not a present under a tree. The gift of a forest.