SAHC purchases tract in the Highlands of Roan

Earlier this month The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) closed on the purchase of a tract of land on Hump Mountain in the Highlands of Roan. The property has been a longtime priority of SAHC because it presents an opportunity to preserve headwater streams of the Elk River watershed, which protects the public's water sources, and to preserve the integrity of the Roan Mountain Massif as a landscape-scale ecological unit. The priority tract was actually marketed for sale as a development called “The Views at Cranberry” for over three years, which illustrates how close to development this environmentally significant property was.

The tract is part of a nearly 40-year conservation effort among multiple federal, state, and private agencies to protect the Highlands of Roan, a 24,000-acre conservation area that is among the top ecological jewels of the Southern Appalachian mountains.

You can get a visual of the area that the SAHC purchased by looking at the photo here.





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com