Highlands of Roan Focus Area
Yellow Mountain Connector Linking Lands from the Roan Massif to Yellow Mtn State Natural Area The Yellow Mountain Connector project helps protect an important ridgeline corridor.
Last year, we purchased an assemblage of 32 properties in the Cane Creek Mountains totaling 456 acres, to protect an important ridgeline corridor through the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area. This acquisition will preserve habitats for rare plants and animals, clean water sources and scenic mountain views from public lands. Thank you for making conservation of this ridgeline possible! “We protected a critical 456-acre chain of parcels that links previously unconnected sections of the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area,” says Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese. “This project made historic, landscape-scale strides in achieving the vision of the state natural area: to protect a longdistance scenic and wildlife corridor below the Appalachian Trail south along the Cane Creek Mountains. It is one of the most impactful land acquisitions in the region.” The properties are situated along
the ridge that forms the boundary between Mitchell and Avery Counties south of Grassy Ridge. The tracts reach 4,600 ft. in elevation and adjoin SAHC’s Cane Creek Mountain and Little Hawk Mountain preserves, connecting sections of the North Carolina Yellow Mountain State Natural Area. The property is within five miles of 13 state-designated Natural Areas, and SAHC’s acquisition of the land protects significant water resources and habitat for rare and threatened species.
Aerial photo by Dennis Oakley, CNPA; flight courtesy of Southwings.
4 |
“This transaction is especially important because our southern Appalachian mountains are a critical corridor for species to migrate in response to climate change,” says Pugliese. “This
View from the Highlands Winter 2020 | Land Protection Updates
ridgeline is a crucial pathway for plants and animals to move for survival. Protecting it contributes meaningfully to climate resiliency in our mountains.” The NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) awarded $1.2 million in grant funds toward the acquisition. In total, the acquisition protects over five miles of stream corridor and 304 acres of stream buffer. Permanent conservation of the land preserves portions of Soapstone Branch, Hawk Creek, Little Henson Creek and Big Spring Creek, as well as 24 headwater tributaries of Henson Creek and Cane Creek, which both flow directly into the North Toe River. A popular area for trout fishing, the North Toe River also provides high quality habitat for federally listed aquatic species. Large portions of the new acquisition fall within two Audubon Society Important Bird Areas – the Roan Mountain and Roan-Cane Creek Mountains Important Bird Areas. Ridgelines in these areas provide passage for substantial numbers of neotropical birds during
