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Conservancy Acquires Valuable Hickory Nut Gorge Property

New tract creates buffer for Bat Cave Preserve

ASHEVILLE, NC — September 10, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy has acquired 55.99 acres in Hickory Nut Gorge. This property will eventually be transferred to the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation for inclusion in Chimney Rock State Park.

“We’ve worked since the early 1980s to protect Hickory Nut Gorge property,” said David Ray, the Conservancy’s Southern Blue Ridge Project Director. “This property is particularly important, because it provides a forested buffer for the Bat Cave Preserve, which was our first acquisition in the area. This also creates another link in our effort to conserve property between the Bat Cave Preserve and Chimney Rock State Park – furthering our goal of protecting this entire, special area one piece at a time.”

"The state parks system will soon be entering a master planning phase for Chimney Rock State Park," said Lewis Ledford, director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. "The ability of The Nature Conservancy and our other conservation partners to identify and acquire key tracts such as this one makes that task easier and furthers the cause of thoughtful conservation throughout Hickory Nut Gorge."

The state park was created in by the General Assembly in 2005. About 3,500 acres have been acquired in Hickory Nut Gorge for the park.  During the current start-up phase, public access to the park is limited to the former 1,000-acre tourist destination at Chimney Rock.

Preserving Hickory Nut Gorge is a Nature Conservancy priority because of its significance as an ecosystem. The Nature Conservancy’s conservation goal is to protect 10 percent of each major habitat on Earth by the year 2015. The Southern Blue Ridge, where Hickory Nut Gorge is located, is part of a priority forest habitat type for the Conservancy. Many rare plant and animal species, including some that are federally endangered, are found in the gorge. The Nature Conservancy has protected almost 3,000 acres in five significant natural areas in the gorge – Bat Cave, Rumbling Bald, Rainbow Falls, Cedar Knob and Cane Creek.

The Nature Conservancy, along with its partners – Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina and Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy – is working to acquire additional property that will also be transferred to the state park system.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.