Mainspring Conservation Trust serves the Southern Blue Ridge mountain region across the six far-west counties in North Carolina and into northeast Georgia. Our mission is to conserve these special places for the benefit of all.
Our Projects
Select a dot on the map to learn more about each project.
Wood Farm
Cherokee County (2021 & 2022)
251 acres
The Wood Family Farm is a working farm in Cherokee County. Visible from Nantahala National Forest lands in the Snowbird and Valley River mountains, more than 81% of the soil is considered Prime Farmland Soil. The conservation project consisted of three separate easements funded through North Carolina ADFP Trust fund grants, as well as the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, The Conservation Trust for North Carolina, one private donor, and other unrestricted donations.
Greenway Extension
Macon County (2017)
14 acres
Purchased from the Dills family in 2017, Mainspring received grants from Duke Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Tennessee Valley Authority to fund a much-needed restoration along the banks of Cartoogechaye Creek. The land was then conserved through a grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, allowing us to sell it to the Town of Franklin in 2022 at a bargain price. The town worked with the county to extend the Little Tennessee Greenway to the Macon County Rec Park and re-route the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail off busy roads for the safety of hikers.
Klatt Wetland
Macon County (2021)
46 acres
Located in Macon County and split by Highway 28, one side of this property has a 22-acre wetland tract with 1,830 feet of river frontage, while across the road more than 24 acres of forested upland will remain intact. It was the largest remaining unconserved wetland on the free-flowing section of the Little Tennessee River.
Onion Mountain
Macon County (2021)
620 acres
The Onion Mountain projects was added to Mainspring’s public properties after a couple purchased the property and gifted it to Mainspring so it will remain a forever-wild place to explore. As a forested spot at a higher elevation – its peak is 3,480 feet – the natural beauty and biodiversity will offer a different example of what people will see at our publicly-accessible properties. Eventually a two-mile hiking trail will be formed using the current primitive road.
Judaculla Ridge/High Knob
Jackson County (2021)
30 acres
Full of pristine and picturesque aquatic habitat, the two projects are both inholdings surrounded by U.S. Forest Service Land that Mainspring purchased just after they were listed for sale. Located within Mainspring’s Upper Tuckasegee Conservation Focus Area in Caney Fork Valley, the property has cultural value as home to the legend of Judaculla, and protects important headwater streams and natural resources.
Cowee Viewsite
Macon County (2010)
7 acres
Directly across the Little Tennessee River from Cowee Mound, this viewsite sits on conserved land created through four acquisitions purchased between 2010 and 2014. In 2007, a conservation project spearheaded by Mainspring culminated in the return on the mound and its surrounding property to Cherokee ownership.
Shut-In Creek
Jackson County (2019)
470 acres
Part of a major, 912-acre conservation project in collaboration with The Conservation Fund, Town of Sylva and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, this property borders Sylva’s Pinnacle Park (that Mainspring helped conserve in 1999) and is part of the Waterrock Knob and Blue Ridge Parkway Focus Area.
King Meadows / Bee Knob
Graham County (2017)
935 acres
One of the most biologically diverse places in western North Carolina, the 770-acre King Meadows property was purchased from a private owner in 2017. Mainspring combined the property with the adjacent 105-acre Bee Knobs tract in 2020 under a conservation easement with the State of North Carolina.
Long Farm
Cherokee County (2019)
32 acres
The Long Farm is an organic operation that specializes in heirloom and heritage varieties of produce and livestock. Seated along an old trading path that was part of the Trail of Tears route, the farm was conserved as a result of the 2014 Farm Bill, which awarded funds for the conservation of important farmland in western North Carolina.
Rainbow Springs
Macon County (2019)
815 acres
This property is part of a larger node of privately conserved properties totaling 2,619 acres near or bounded by Nantahala National Forest. Located within the property is Rainbow Springs Marsh, a bog wetland that is so unique it’s included in the Mountain Bogs National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately 85% of the property is within the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail.
Watauga Town
Macon County (2020 & 2023)
60 acres
Mainspring has conserved three parcels that were once part of Historic Watauga Town, one of the ancient Cherokee Middle Towns between Nikwasi (3 miles upstream in modern Franklin) and Cowee (4 miles downstream). Part of the property will continue to be used for hay production and cattle grazing and all three tracts are available for teaching and research by professors and students in the anthropology program at Western Carolina University.
Bryson Branch
Tiger Farm
Fires Creek
Cherokee County (2017)
50 acres
This inholding is now part of the Nantahala National Forest and offers access to the popular Fires Creek Rim Trail. More than 85% of the property is in the Fires Creek watershed and extends across the Valley River Mountains into Cherokee County. Fires Creek is designated as an Outstanding Resource Water, the highest designation available in North Carolina.
Little Tennessee Bartram Trail Project
Macon County (2018)
71 acres
The conservation of this property provided a link between two public access areas owned by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (that Mainspring conserved and conveyed to the state in 2008) on the east and U.S. Forest Service Lands on the west, connecting Bartram Trail to the river and providing parking for hikers. It is also a State Significant Aquatic Habitat, home to rare aquatic species.
Pathertown Salt Rock Gap Entrance & Parking
Jackson County (2017)
16 acres
After a successful fundraising effort and partnership with the Friends of Panthertown, Mainspring purchased 16 acres of private property that borders the western entrance to Panthertown Valley and Salt Rock Gap. Panthertown is part of the Nantahala National Forest and consists of more than 10,000 acres of protected land with clifftop views, at least eight major waterfalls, trout streams, rare plant species and diverse habitat for wildlife.
Rickman Creek
Pinnacle Park
Jackson County (2007)
1,088 acres
The former water supply for the Town of Sylva, Pinnacle Park is a popular hiking spot and includes trails to Blackrock Mountain, Pinnacle Bald and The Pinnacle. Protected with a conservation easement in 2007, the watershed contains 7.5 miles of streams classified as High Quality Water and Trout Water. It is adjacent to Waterrock Knob Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hickory Flats
XXXXX County ( )
## acres
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