Franklin, TN -- The Nature Conservancy has filed suit against Southern Land Company and others for trespassing on a private nature preserve that resulted in the destruction of a state and federally endangered plant population as well as its habitat.

The suit, which is seeking compensatory and significant punitive damages, was filed today in Williamson County Circuit Court. The property, which is a designated state natural area by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, is located on Sneed Road in Williamson County, surrounded by the Laurelbrooke Subdivision.

The Sneed Road Preserve is a one-acre property owned by The Nature Conservancy since 1981. The cedar glade preserve was home to one of only three protected populations of the leafy prairie-clover in Tennessee. The leafy prairie-clover has been on the Federal Endangered Species List since 1991 and the Sneed Road Preserve represented one of only 14 naturally occurring populations of the plant known to exist in the world.

The trespass occurred in late 1998 when the developers caused thousands of cubic feet of dirt to be dumped on The Nature Conservancy’s property without permission, resulting in the destruction of a majority of the habitat for the leafy prairie-clover. The damaged site was subsequently used as a road to facilitate the developers’ heavy equipment movement.

"The Nature Conservancy is not an organization that normally sues people. We prefer to use our resources to promote the conservation of habitats critical to rare and endangered species. But at some point you have to draw a line – and if you can’t prevent this kind of negligent destruction of your own property – then we’re all in trouble.

"The Nature Conservancy is not opposed to development. We work everyday to find ways for thoughtful, planned development efforts to co-exist with natural habitats. It’s often not what you do – but how you do it. What happened at Sneed Road did not have to happen," said Scott Davis, the Tennessee chapter’s state director.

In addition to trespassing on private property, the developer has caused significant amounts of silt to be deposited on the tract and significantly altered a stream adjacent to TNC’s property, which irreparably damaged the plants as well. The stream alteration is a violation of state law and is currently under litigation in Davidson County. TNC has discovered that one or more of the principals involved in the Laurelbrooke subdivision has also been subject to numerous violations by the state over other water quality violations.

"The negligent parties received a formal environmental study as well as written notice from the state concerning the nature and location of the plants on The Nature Conservancy’s property before construction work began," said Gabby Call, TNC’s director of protection. The developer’s attempts to restore the site have failed and scientists say there is no longer a viable population of leafy prairie-clover plants left on the property.

Call discovered the trespass and destruction of the plants and the habitat. "This was the loss of a genetically unique plant population that needs specific conditions to survive. Once a population like this is destroyed, the loss to the species as a whole is irreparable. The leafy prairie-clover is now one step closer to extinction because of the developers’ carelessness," she said.