Yellow Mountain Connector

In 2019, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy 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.

“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 Yellow Mountain Connector project helps protect an important ridgeline corridor, linking lands from the Roan Massif to Yellow Mtn State Natural Area.

Aerial photo by Dennis Oakley, CNPA. Flight courtesy of Southwings.

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.

“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 ridgeline is a crucial pathway for plants and animals to move for survival. Protecting it contributes meaningfully to climate resiliency in our mountains.”

Protection of these tracts protects high elevation water sources and tributaries flowing into the North Toe River.

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.

Yellow Mountain Connector bridges gaps between already protected lands, securing a corridor from the Roan Massif through the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area.

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 migration, and several rare species breed in the area, including Golden-winged Warbler and Northern Sawwhet Owl. High elevation rocky summit habitat on the undeveloped tracts provides home for a plethora of rare plants and animals. The project connects 22,000 acres of protected land on the Roan Massif to 838 acres of protected land in the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area. SAHC plans to own and manage the land as a nature preserve.

“We are deeply grateful for the generous support of philanthropists Fred and Alice Stanback, the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, SAHC supporters, and a grant from the Conservation Trust for North Carolina for making this critical conservation work possible,” adds Pugliese. A generous conservation partner also donated years of effort and transaction costs to acquire the multiple parcels in this package.

The land contains over five miles of stream corridor.

Partner Perspective: Clean Water Management Trust Fund

CWMTF Western Field Representative Damon Hearne on a site visit to the property.

“Assembling multiple properties for protection at a landscape and watershed scale is a difficult but worthwhile process,” says Walter Clark, Executive Director, CWMTF. “The success of this complex project is the result of hard work and coordination by the land protection staff of SAHC and CWMTF.”

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund was established by the General Assembly in 1996 as a nonregulatory organization with a focus on protecting and restoring the State’s land and water resources. It awards grants to non-profit and governmental organizations to protect land for natural, historical and cultural benefit, limit encroachment on military installations, restore degraded streams, and develop and improve stormwater treatment technology.

For more info, visit www.cwmtf.nc.gov