FLC protects more than 7K acres

Foothills Land Conservancy celebrated its 30th year of service by protecting more than 7,000 acres of rural land in 2015.

During the 2015 calendar year, FLC completed 24 land partnerships totaling 7,215 acres in five states and seven Tennessee counties.

The conservancy celebrated 30 years of service as a regional land trust in 2015. To date, it has helped to preserve 65,900 acres across Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia.

In other good news, the U.S. Congress recently passed a bill that will make the tax incentive for conservation easement donations permanent. Once signed into law the incentive will be applied retroactively to start Jan. 1, 2015, said Bill Clabough, FLC’s executive director.

“I consider the permanent tax incentive for conservation easements icing on the cake of an amazing year,” he said. “We’ve had another successful year for Foothills, and it happens to be a milestone year for us as well — celebrating 30 years as a regional land trust. This year’s conservation easement partnerships, support from all of our friends, and our diversified board of directors are the major reasons for our continued phenomenal growth and expansion of our service area.”

FLC completed a conversation easement agreement with Blount County resident Doug Cox for a 68.19-acre property located in the Top of the World community, close to the Foothills Parkway.

The newly preserved property offers outstanding views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, said Clabough. “It’s gorgeous. It’s got view of the Smokies. It’s just a really pretty piece of property. You can stand on his back deck and look at Gregory Bald and Abrams Creek and all that area.”

Cox is the developer of the Chestnut Tops Community, a 170-acre community featuring landowner covenants to protect the environment and natural resources and promote community values.

“It’s been part of my mentality forever, the idea of land that is preserved, particularly mountain land that is adjacent to the Park,” he said.

FLC provides a very valuable service to the region, Cox said. “The land conservancy gives a much needed voice to the land.”

In 2014, the FLC broke its own records for the fourth year in a row with its best-ever total of 11,700 acres protected.

The conservancy works with landowners who wish to permanently preserve the natural features of their property through a voluntary and customizable agreement, called a conservation easement. This is a legal contract between a landowner and FLC describing what activities may take place on a property in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Landowners continue to own, use and live on the land. When an easement is signed and recorded, the owner and FLC work together to protect the land.

FLC now has conservation easement in 28 Tennessee counties. This number includes two new Tennessee counties in 2015 — Clay and Humphreys.

The total number of Blount County conservation easements now stands at 42 land preservation partnerships that covers 6,314 acres. This includes a 215-acre easement in Townsend owned by Laverne Farmer, 314 acres owned by Gail Harris, 132 acres owned by Billy Minser, and the 363-acre property that was formerly the site of Camp Montvale but is now home to Harmony Family Center.

“This a record year as it relates to the amount of different conservation easements we’ve done,” Clabough said.

Foothills Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that depends solely on individual and corporate contributions. It does not receive financial support from local, state or federal governments.

The conservancy incorporated in 1985. Its roots are traced to an organization called Alternatives for Blount County (ABC), which was founded by individuals concerned with the prospect of a 1,200-acre amusement park in Tuckaleechee Cove.