MAY 14, 2009 ISSUE
High Country Conservancy Protects 95 Acres In Avery County
Conservation Easement Borders Pisgah, Lower Flank of Grandfather Mountain
High Country Conservancy recently expanded Avery County’s wildlife habitat by securing a conservation easement on Dewey Wells’ 95-acre Wellspring Farm, located on the lower flank of Grandfather Mountain in Avery County and bordering Pisgah National Forest. Photos submitted
High Country Conservancy (HCC) is celebrating a recent conservation easement on 95 acres that borders the Pisgah National Forest in Avery County. Dewey Wells, former member of the National Heritage Trust Fund, donated the conservation easement on his entire property that is located on the lower flanks of Grandfather Mountain.
“I decided that, with my children’s concurrence, we wanted to be sure that the farm remained in its undeveloped state, both for enjoyment, for maintaining a good wildlife habitat and to help ensure that in decades to come this will not be land covered in pavement and buildings,” said Wells.
Long before HCC got involved with the project, Wells’ Wellspring Farm was a hotbed for conservation. Wells purchased the property in 1985 and, after failed attempts at using it as a horse and Christmas tree farm, decided to restore the land to its original natural state.
“I then started the conversion to making the farm more friendly to wildlife and more enjoyable for the family,” said Wells.
An avid outdoorsman and hunter, Wells restored fields on the property by planting native prairie grasses, trees and clovers to serve as food and cover for wildlife. Wells also created openings in parts of the forest canopy to foster early successional cover, or young forest growth, that many species of native animals rely on for survival.
Two years ago, though, Wells decided he wanted to protect the land for future generations without any threat of development. Wells worked with HCC Land Protection Director Eric Hiegl to arrange the conservation easement after the project was passed to HCC from Asheville’s Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy because of proximity.
Hiegl saw many benefits from protecting Wells’ property. Wellspring Farm consists of a mixed hardwood forest, including a mature stand of northern red oak, and includes N.C. State Wildlife Action Plan priority habitats, such as Cove Forest and Oak Forest. Headwater streams of Anthony Creek, a tributary of Johns River, originate on the property and flow into Wilson Creek, a National Wild and Scenic River. The property is also situated adjacent to Pisgah National Forest, approximately three quarters of a mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
“Not only will the conservation easement protect water quality, scenic views and buffer Pisgah National Forest, but it is already managed to enhance wildlife,” said Hiegl. “One of our goals is to protect land that is adjacent to other protected land so it has a greater environmental impact.”
Under the conservation easement, Wells still owns the land and uses it as his primary residence, but it can now never be subdivided or developed. Wells hopes the land will serve as a natural sanctuary for his five children and 16 grandchildren.
“In this area, so little land is left undeveloped, so individual landowners who choose to protect can make a big difference,” said Wells. “Now more than ever it is time for individuals to step up.”
For more information on HCC, click to www.highcountryconservancy.org or call 828-264-2511.
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