34
Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
Trust as its work pushed outside the borders of the Little Tennessee River’s watershed and expanded beyond land conservation deals to include environmental education too. When the land trust first formed, not a single piece of land along the Little Tennessee’s main stem had been conserved. Now, three-quarters of it is protected. The organization’s staff has grown from three to
Smith (far right) leads a tour of a Mainspring property in Graham County. Mainspring photo
Mainspring’s story begins new chapter Taylor retires; Smith takes the reins as director BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER haron Taylor was in her mid-30s when she left her office gig to return to school, hoping to pursue a career that would allow her to spend more time outdoors and less time handling fluorescent-lit paperwork. After graduating from Western Carolina University with a degree in natural resources management, Taylor found a job at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in Macon County, where she worked as a research technician and enjoyed the full menu of retirement and health benefits to which she was entitled as an employee of the University of Georgia. Things were going well, and if she gave UGA the next 20 years, they’d give her a comfortable retirement. So, when Paul Carlson asked her to come on board at his new nonprofit organization, Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, the answer seemed like an obvious no. But Carlson did his best to persuade her with a simple appeal: “Come help me save the Needmore.” The tract straddled the SwainMacon county line, and there was nothing protecting its incredible beauty and biodiversity from the accelerating development of the early 2000s. Now, more than 5,000 acres of the area are protected, including 4,800 acres that LTLT turned over to the N.C. Wildlife
S
Resources Commission to become the Needmore Game Lands.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS Taylor, now 63, was instrumental in those efforts. Carlson’s appeal worked. “Everybody thought I was nuts,” said Taylor. In 2001 she became just the third employee at the four-year-old homegrown nonprofit. LTLT was founded in 1997 after two years of informal meetings discussing the rapid pace of development in Western North Carolina, and the threats it posed to the region’s mountains, streams and farmlands. “It was a big leap and it was scary, but I haven’t ever regretted a day,” said Taylor. “I don’t think Paul nor I could have imagined the success this organization would have.” Carlson retired in 2014, and Taylor, then deputy director of the organization, took over the reins as executive director in 2015. She promised the nonprofit two or three more years of work before looking at retirement herself, but she ended up staying for five. Taylor left on Feb. 29 after 19 years with the organization. It’s been a more rewarding season than she could have dreamed. “I would have never imagined we would have grown to this size, but I also never would have imagined that we’d have conserved as much as we’ve conserved,” she said. Taylor’s tenure included renaming the organization as Mainspring Conservation
utive director. When Taylor announced her impending retirement last July, Mainspring’s board decided to do a national search for her successor. The seven-member search committee interviewed several people from several places across the country, said Taylor. It just so happened that the right person was already working in the Franklin office. “I just believe so strongly in what we do, it was almost a “I love this place and I love what sense of responsibility,” Smith said of his decision to apply. “It we do, and I believe in our mission. felt like something I was meant to do. I wanted to pick up the It’s an honor to be able to follow in ball and move things forward Sharon’s footsteps.” when Sharon decided to move on.” — Jordan Smith Smith, like Taylor, is a homegrown product of the 11, and its number of offices has tripled from mountain region. Now 36, he lived in the one to three. Overall, Mainspring has either Caney Fork community of Jackson County directly conserved or partnered to conserve until sixth grade. When his parents divorced, more than 28,000 acres — and counting. they moved to Swain County, and he split his Storytelling was key to that success, said time between his mom’s house in Lower Taylor. Alarka and his dad’s place in the Galbreath “We learned early on that it’s all about Creek Community. Like many young adults, telling your story, and we did that with beautiSmith left his hometown for college and ful photographs and beautiful words,” she said. career, earning a wildlife management degree “With children and dogs and cats it’s so much from Auburn University. He landed work as easier, because you can tell those heart-wrench- the hunting lease manager and recreational ing stories. With land, those spot-finned chubs properties coordinator for the Westervelt are not that endearing to anyone.” Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and then Crafting a compelling story and broadcast- took a position as field supervisor for Brosnan ing it to the world is therefore the key hurdle, Forest, the 16,000-acre working forest owned and it’s one that Mainspring cleared well by Norfolk Southern Corporation in South enough to raise the Little Tennessee waterCarolina. But he missed the mountains, and shed to an issue of national significance. eventually he and his wife decided to they Over the years, Mainspring’s land conserwanted to raise their two daughters back in vation accomplishments have been many. It’s Western North Carolina. Now they’re back at responsible for protecting the 70-acre Galbreath Creek. Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Macon His wife found a job first. During one of County, the 53-acre Chunky Gal Tract in Clay their scouting trips up to North Carolina, County and the 50-acre Bo Cove Tract in Smith interviewed for a state job that he Jackson County. There’s Sylva’s 1,088-acre ended up not getting. But the interview itself Pinnacle Park as well as the 912 acres of opened the door to his offer from Mainspring. adjoining land it recently helped conserve “One of the people that interviewed with other partners. Land conservation projJordan in Raleigh sent this email out to all the ects have taken place at Panthertown Valley, land trusts in this part of the state and said, ‘I the Blue Ridge Parkway and at family farms can’t hire this person, but if anyone has a job sprinkled across the region. There’s a lot to be you should look at him,’” said Taylor. proud of, but when asked her biggest accomShe gave Smith a call, which just so happlishment over the past 19 years, Taylor didn’t pened to come the day before he was preparname any of the above. ing to head back to South Carolina. Within “I am so sincere in this,” she said. “The two hours, he was at her office for an interbiggest accomplishment is building this view and hired pretty much on the spot. smart, young staff that’s going to carry this It was a dream job, but still — he was givmission forward.” ing up a position in his field that came with excellent pay and excellent benefits that would allow him to look seriously into retireNEW LEADER ment by his late 40s or early 50s. “At the same time, it wasn’t a hard deciTaylor hired most of the people currently sion,” said Smith. on staff at Mainspring, and one of those hires He was drawn to the organization, and to is Jordan Smith, who came on in 2016 as land the work that it does. His colleagues share conservation manager. Like Taylor, he left a well-paying job with stable prospects and ben- that passion, he said. That’s why Mainspring has been so successful and why its staff has efits to come work for Mainspring and, also remained so stable over time. like Taylor, he hasn’t regretted it since. Smith is excited for what the Especially after the board of directors chose him earlier this year to succeed Taylor as exec- coming years will bring, but he
A
