Milestones of the Tennessee Chapter

Walls of Jericho, protected in 2004.
© Byron Jorjorian

1978 – Chapter chartered by The Nature Conservancy.

– 4,138 acres at Savage Gulf State Natural Area purchased from J. M. Huber Corporation and transferred to the state of Tennessee.

– Taylor Hollow Preserve in Middle Tennessee purchased.

1979 – Jenkins Cranberry Bog purchased in Shady Valley to protect Tennessee’s only native cranberry population. Chapter donates bog to East Tennessee State University for an outdoor research laboratory.

– Chapter and partners acquired a 133-acre tract at Nashville's beloved Radnor Lake State Natural Area, one of several acquired over the years. All told, The Nature Conservancy has helped add some 280 acres to the 1,200-acre preserve.

1981 – Chapter purchased Powell River Preserve to protect Tennessee’s only native population of showy lady’s-slipper.

– Purchased Barnett's Woods, a 40-acre property with two significant caves, located in Montgomery County west of Clarksville. Price's potato bean was rediscovered here after it was thought eradicated from Tennessee. Today the property is a state natural area.

1984 – Hubbard’s Cave purchased. Endangered gray bat population is roughly 50,000.

1985 – Chapter installed massive steel gate at Hubbard’s Cave to protect bat population.

– Received 1,100 acres for the Tennessee River Gorge from Bowater, Inc.

1986 – 11,590 acres purchased for Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge in West Tennessee.

1990 – Mount View Cedar Glade in Middle Tennessee purchased to protect the endangered Tennessee coneflower’s site of discovery.

1991 – Sunnybell Cedar Glade in Middle Tennessee purchased. The Tennessee Chapter subsequently convinced Tennessee Department of Transportation to re-route a section of State Route 840 to avoid destroying the glade.

1992 – Acquired the first 43 acres of Couchville Cedar Glade with financial support from American Airlines, Cracker Barrel, and BellSouth. Today this cedar glade is a 122-acre state natural area that is contiguous with Long Hunter State Park near Hermitage, Tennessee.

1993 – William B. Clark Conservation Area established on the Wolf River near Memphis with a land donation from Buck Clark and his family foundation.

1994 – Began purchasing land at Flat Rock Cedar Glade State Natural Area in Murfreesboro; at 846 acres, it’s now the largest protected cedar glade in the Southeast.

– Purchased Orchard Bog in Shady Valley in East Tennessee and soon launched mountain bog restoration efforts to benefit migratory birds, cranberries, and the endangered bog turtle.

1996 – 452-acre John R. Dickey Birch Branch Preserve in Shady Valley donated to Tennessee Chapter by Marie Dickey Kalman.

– 57,000 total acres protected in Tennessee.

1997 – Community-based conservation office opened in Shady Valley for East Tennessee. Two Shady Valley residents are employed by the Chapter to run the office and manage the Shady Valley preserve system.

1998 – Schoolyard Springs Preserve acquired in Shady Valley to protect unusual artesian springs and several rare plant species, including Gray’s lily.

– 65-acre Quarry Bog Preserve purchased in Shady Valley to begin the Chapter’s second wetland restoration project to benefit bog turtles.

1999 – Community-based conservation offices opened on the Duck River in Columbia and on the Hatchie River in Brownsville.

– 1,100-acre Tally Wilderness Preserve donated to Chapter by Burton Tally in Pickett County, adjacent to Pickett State Forest.

2001 – Award-winning boardwalk opened at the William B. Clark Conservation Area.

– 1,571-acre Jim Creek tract purchased in Pickett and Fentress Counties.

– Carter Lands (5,200 acres) in Southern Cumberlands purchased.

– 1,063 acres purchased on the Hatchie River within the lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge.

– Chapter purchased Millstone Mountain on the Hatchie River (161 acres) to protect a unique geologic formation and associated rare plant communities.

– Chapter purchased a 469-acre addition (Dobbs Creek Preserve) to the Tally Wilderness Area in Pickett County.

2002 – Chapter completed boardwalk for visitors at Schoolyard Springs Preserve in Shady Valley.

2003 - 200,000 total acres protected in Tennessee.

– 11,800 acres of bottomland hardwood forest and wetlands purchased from the Anderson-Tully Corporation to create the John Tully Wildlife Management Area.

– U.S. Geological Survey found that the Duck River is one of the most biologically rich rivers in the Southeast.

– Helped purchase 75,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau to create the Sundquist Wildlife Management Area.

– Knoxville office opened for East Tennessee operations.

2004 – Tennessee and Alabama Chapters joined forces to protect the Walls of Jericho,
21,227 spectacular acres in the Southern Cumberlands.

– Chapter protected 10,000 key acres connecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest, in a historic agreement with Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. and a dozen other private and public stakeholders.

– Chapter purchased a 250-acre tract on Roan Mountain to add to the Cherokee National Forest.

– Chapter secured $750,000 from the U.S. Congress to purchase tracts along the Obed Wild & Scenic River.

– Chapter secured $1,800,000 from the U.S. Congress to purchase tracts in the Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge.

2005 – Pogue Creek, 3,720 acres adjacent to Pickett State Forest, purchased.

– Alexander Cave donated to the Conservancy; the Chapter installed a bat-friendly gate soon afterward.

– Tennessee Chapter partnered with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to create pioneering State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), which includes a cutting-edge, habitat-mapping software package, allowing TWRA and TNC to pinpoint and tailor habitat protection for wildlife species to ensure their survival.

– Chapter secured $6.1 million in federal funds to construct the Duck Riverwalk in Columbia.

– Chapter purchased 200 acres in the Yanahli Wildlife Management Area on the Duck River in Maury County.

2006 – 220,000 total acres protected in Tennessee.

– Bellamy Cave in Montgomery County purchased for the Conservancy and the State of Tennessee.

– Chapter installed new state-of-the-art bat-friendly gate at Hubbard’s Cave. Cave’s gray bat population has grown tenfold—to more than 500,000.

– Dry Branch Creek (2,569 acres) in Lewis County purchased from International Paper to protect an endangered Tennessee yellow-eyed grass population.

– Skinner Mountain (4,208 acres) purchased in Fentress County.

– Orchard Bog Preserve in Shady Valley more than doubled in size, reaching 169 acres.

– Chapter received a 30-acre wetlands donation in West Tennessee’s Carroll County to honor the late Dr. James T. Holmes.

2007 – Chapter achieved $14 million goal for its first ever capital campaign, the biggest fundraising drive for conservation in the state's history.

– The state of Tennessee and the Tennessee Chapter, teaming with two timber companies, completed the largest conservation transaction in the state since the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dubbed "Connecting the Cumberlands," the deal protects 127,854 acres of forest and links to 66,000 acres of existing public lands on the northern Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee.

– The Nature Conservancy selected the Tennessee Chapter as the Outstanding Conservation Field Program in the entire organization for 2007 and honored State Director Scott Davis for his leadership and accomplishments with an Outstanding Performance Award.

– Chapter purchased 13 more acres at Schoolyard Springs Preserve in Shady Valley.

2008 – Chapter purchased two key forest properties near the Walls of Jericho: the Thompson property (874 acres) and Pumplog Hollow (1,012 acres).