Black Mountains Focus Area
Bowditch Bottoms
Productive farmland in the Black Mountains
Fertile fields, photo by Kathleen Brannan, CNPA
We are thrilled to have purchased this significant agricultural conservation easement this summer, thanks to your help. This 87-acre property in Yancey County contains important soils, farmland, undeveloped forested and non-forested habitat for wildlife, headwaters to the South Toe River, and intact wetland and riparian corridors. It is visible from the Mount Mitchell Scenic Byway and high-elevation vantage points in the Black Mountains and the Highlands of the Roan. “The agricultural conservation easement on Bowditch Bottoms ensures that this property will be available for farming for generations to come,” says Farmland Program Director Jess Laggis. “The land contains a high concentration of prime agricultural soils, which are very rare in Western North Carolina. In this region only 2% of the soils are considered prime. The permanent status of productive
farmland and its availability for crop production to vegetable farmers will build up and support local food infrastructure vital to food security and to the long term security of the agricultural economy in western North Carolina.”
With farmland rapidly disappearing in the Western North Carolina mountains, Ken and Ida Brown approached SAHC several years ago with an exciting plan to purchase farmland and make it available to farmers who could not otherwise afford it. They are passionate about protecting Bowditch Bottoms, photo by Catherine Pawlik, CNPA farmland 14 | View from the Highlands Fall 2020
| Land Protection Updates
for present and future generations, and wanted to invest in something that could make an impact on the community. After purchasing the Bowditch Bottoms property, Ken and Ida made it available through a 10-year lease to local farmers in TRACTOR Food and Farms, a non-profit food hub located in Burnsville, NC. TRACTOR (Toe River Aggregation Center Training Organization Regional, Inc) trains farmers to meet federal requirements for food handling and safety, gives them the opportunity to attend free seminars on production planning and post-harvest handling, and provides access to shared use equipment and packaging facilities. Ayles Creek and two of its tributaries run through the property. Conservation of the land protects these water sources, which flow into the South Toe River, a popular river for trout fishing.
