Now in our 27th year of service as a land trust, FLC has assisted in the preservation of 30,000 acres in 18 Tennessee counties. This past year Foothills partnered with landowners on nineteen land protection projects covering 4400 acres! Recent easements include two Tennessee Century Farms in Monroe County, 120 acres along the French Broad in Knox County, a 364 tract in Blount County (Camp Montvale) and 1700 acres within the Cumberland Plateau (Scott, Overton & Cumberland Counties).

The following links provide an overview of our 2011 easements:

Part 1 - Blount County – Monroe County (2 Century Farms) – Union County

Part 2 - Cumberland County - Overton County – Scott County

Part 3 - Blount County – Jackson County - Knox County – Meigs County – Roane County – Williamson County

Part 4 - Blount County – Bradley County – Knox County 

______________________________________

Media Articles about FLC’s 2011 land projects:

Foothills Land Conservancy is excited to announce that Bill Landry has generously offered to donate 15% of his new book, Appalachian Tales & Heartland Adventures, to FLC for every book we sell! The book highlights stories from 25 years of The Heartland Series, the most successful local TV show in our region’s history.

Related media articles:

Sam Venable: ‘Heartland’ book sure to please – Knoxville News Sentinel

ON-LINE BOOK ORDERING

Please note that it will take a few days to process book orders. Please contact Elise at 865-681-8326 with any questions.  FLC will receive 15% for every book purchase ordered through this site – thank you!

• 100 of Bill’s favorite stories, people and adventures
• 175 pictures
• 200 pages
• Available in hard or soft copy
• 10 X 9 inches

Ordering Options:

AT&HA – Hardcover Edition $50.00 AT&HA – Softcover Edition $28.00

To make a ONLINE DONATION To Foothills Land Conservancy:

______________________

PRINTABLE FORM

*To purchase books and/or to make a donation to Foothills Land Conservancy utilizing a printable form, Please use this Order Form

______________________

Bill Landry’s 2012 Book Signing & Speaking Schedule:

Jim Johnston, Celtic Cat Publishing & Bill Landry at Barnes & Noble Book Signing for Appalachian Tales & Heartland Adventures

May 2: Morristown Federated Women’s Club, 12 – 1:30 pm

May 2: Morristown-Hamblen Library – 3 – 5 pm

May 4:  Society of
Dentists Fishing Rodeo

May 16: Sunsphere: “Lunch for Laughers” Tickets 951-0319 –
11:30 am

May 16: Sunsphere:
Travel Writers Tourist Dinner @ 6:00

May 18: Tellico Tales, Tellico Village Rotary, First Baptist
Church – 7 pm

May 19: Union County Historical Society Barbeque, 4-7 pm

June 2: Smoky Mountain Field School, GSMNP

June 9:  Foothills Land Conservancy Farm @ Nubbin’s Ridge @ 6:00

June 14, 15:
Tennessee Historical Commission meeting @ Shiloh

June 23:  Townsend
Heritage Center Cades Cove Tour @ 9:30

July 6: Safe haven Fundraiser, Spring City, 7 pm

July 8: 2012 Appalachian Regional Commission, Comfort Inn,
Oak Ridge, 6 pm

July 21:  Roane County
Writer’s Group Fundraiser, Bill Gilliam @ 6:00

July 28:  Townsend
Heritage Center Cades Cove Tour @ 9:30

August 3: ETHC Film Screening and Book Signing

August 4: Smoky Mountain Field School, GSMNP

August 18:  Pollard
Auditorium, ORICLE Kickoff, @ 4:00

August 25:  Townsend
Heritage Center, Cades Cove Tour @ 9:30

September 7: Palace Theater, Crossville, “An Evening with
Bill Landry” & matinee

September 17: Family & Community Education Jamboree,
Rothchilds

September 22:  Townsend
Heritage Center Cades Cove Tour @ 9:30

November 11: Concord United Methodist Church (ACES)

Each year since 1965, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) has honored a select group of leaders in the conservation and stewardship of wildlife and their habitat in Tennessee. This year, East Tennessee’s Foothills Land Conservancy (FLC) was honored with the Conservation Organization of the Year award during the 46th Annual TWF Conservation Achievement Awards. The ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 19^th, 2011 at the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

Foothills Land Conservancy receives TWF’s Conservation Organization of the Year award. (Pictured left to right) Dan Hammond, TWF’s Chairman of the Board; Ernie Blankenship, FLC Board Member; and Elise Eustace, FLC Communication & Development Director.

 “These awards recognize those individuals and organizations that have made truly meaningful contributions to conservation in Tennessee and to TWF,” says Michael Butler, TWF’s chief executive officer. “The great work of our past winners lives on today, and the current generation is building upon those successes. Without their willingness to take action, we would have failed in our mission, and we are proud to honor their contributions.”

A selection committee comprised of TWF members, Board representatives, conservation professionals and members of the media reviewed all nominations and decided on the winners.  Foothills Land Conservancy received the Conservation Organization of the Year award for outstanding achievement by an organization for work in some phase of conservation during the contest year. For a complete list of award recipients, please visit TWF’s website.

2010 was a milestone year for Foothills! FLC celebrated the completion of the “25 in 25” campaign – preserving 25,000 East Tennessee acres by the organization’s 25th year of service. Launched in October of 2007, FLC committed to create a regional initiative that would maximize land owner interest while raising awareness of its mission throughout the community.

To date, FLC has:

• established, assisted or donated over 10,000 acres of land for local parks and recreation areas.
• conserved over 8900 acres of productive agricultural lands and natural areas between 2006 and 2010.
• assisted landowners in creating over 70 conservation easement agreements in a total of 13 East Tennessee counties.

The mission of Foothills Land Conservancy is to protect, preserve, and enhance the natural landscape of the East Tennessee region. FLC provides landowners the tools and resources to protect their property from development in perpetuity.  All conservation easement agreements coordinated through Foothills are voluntary, customizable, approved by a Board of Directors and monitored at least once a year. FLC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and does not receive any financial support from federal, state, or local governments.

Media Coverage

Chattanooga.com Article

The Daily Times Article

To learn more about Foothills Land Conservancy, please visit their website at www.foothillsland.org or contact their office at 865-681-8326.

Save the Date – June 9th, 2012

Christine Hayworth’s Penrose Farm

5:00pM-8:30PM

Click here to view our 2012 Invitation!

Click here for Summer Celebration photos! (2011)

A special thank you to our 2011 Summer Celebration Sponsors:

A special thank you to our 2011 Host Committee Members:

• FLC’s Annual Report & 2012 Spring Newsletter – Click Here

• FLC’s East TN Land Conservation Programs – Brochure

• 2012 Foothills Land Conservancy – Video Presentation

• 2010 Annual Report & 2011 Spring Newsletter – Click Here

• For additional Foothills publications, click here.

Media Articles

May 2012

June 2012

August 2012

FLC is pleased to announce last week’s conservation easement signing on a 648 acre tract in Polk County. Surrounded on all sides by the 640,000 acre Cherokee National Forest, this property offers ridge top views of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  Tributaries on the property allow for critical trout spawning habitat for both the Hiwassee and Ocoee River Watersheds. Property includes almost 2.5 miles of dense old-growth white pine and hemlock forest. Bill Clabough, FLC’s Executive Director, considers this a rare opportunity to preserve land that remains relatively untouched by human hands. “The beauty and environmental values of this property are in keeping with the forest lands surrounding it.  What an outstanding opportunity for Foothills to assist in the preservation of this natural area both for our community and wildlife habitat.”

Registration of Conservation Easement at Polk County Courthouse (left to right - Dan Owens, principal property owner; Bill Clabough, FLC Executive Director; Meredith CLebsch, FLC Land Director; Lewis Kearney, FLC Board Member; Elise Eustace, FLC Communication & Development Director

(pictured left to right) Catherine Gilreath, Conservation Easement Donor; FLC's Land Director, Meredith Clebsch; and FLC's Executive Director, Bill Clabough

Catherine Gilreath, a longtime Blount County resident and outdoors person/volunteer, recently decided to give back to her community in the form of a conservation easement.  Her wish to preserve a 11 acre tract stemmed from the experiences she had growing up and the desire to preserve the land for others. Gilreath says, “Sports kept me out of trouble. Growing up in Sevier County (Kodak) across the road from Beech Springs School, my sibling and I along with all the neighborhood kids, enjoyed the nearby outdoor recreational facilities. That’s why I wanted to specify that this property could be used for community soccer fields and for other recreational uses.”

The property includes a mix of open space and woodlands as well as a creek – all wonderful attributes for an outdoor sports area.

Picture of Gilreath's Property (Blount County)

Billy Wallace decided to partner with Foothills in 2011 in order to place his 15 acre tract in Halls under conservation easement. This is truly a unique piece of land that includes a blue hole (or underwater sinkhole) that is part cave and part spring. The property’s spring feeds into Beaver Creek that cuts through the Halls community. Adjacent to the blue hole is a bird habitat. Sparrows love the mix of grasses and nearby water source – allowing them a place for nesting and protection. The tree trunk (pictured) is the remanent of an ash tree that likely provides for bird, owl and even raccoon habitat.

In early 2010, FLC agreed to hold a conservation easement for the Legacy Parks Foundation on 26 acres in Knox County for the purpose of enlarging the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge (SIWR) property.  Since that time, the Legacy Parks Foundation has given this  tract (that includes the easement) over to Knox County for inclusion in the refuge.  SIWR is a wildlife sanctuary that encompasses 360 acres. It’s available for recreational use by the general public. Management of the SIWR refuge is a joint effort between Knox County Parks & Recreation and the Seven Islands Foundation. Click here to visit SIWR’s website.