The Conservation Trust hosted a Parkway tour and fundraising reception Sunday, June 11 for individuals interested in preserving the cherished landscape of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Jann Godwin and Timberline Properties generously hosted the reception at the Switzerland Inn. Phil Francis, Superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Reid Wilson, Conservation Trust for North Carolina Executive Director, encouraged guests to support conservation of land near the Parkway.

The Conservation Trust has been working for ten years to preserve the Blue Ridge Parkway’s scenic views, headwater creeks, healthy forests, and wildlife habitat around Little Switzerland. The Little Switzerland section of the Parkway is a rapidly developing area where beautiful mountain vistas are fueling a booming vacation home market. The federally-protected land buffering the Parkway in this area is as narrow as 50 feet wide in places.

One example of the types of properties guests saw on the tour was a 25-acre tract located less than a mile from the Little Switzerland post office at milepost 335. The Conservation Trust protected the property in October 2005 after learning the property was being bid on by a developer. The property adjoins the Blue Ridge Parkway for approximately 2000 feet and contains the headwaters of Crabtree Creek, a trout stream as designated by the NC Division of Water Quality. The Conservation Trust prevented the property from being subdivided into home sites using its own funds, a generous contribution from Fred and Alice Stanback, and a $25,000 grant from the Cannon Foundation. The property will be donated to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Parkway’s boundaries.

Other Conservation Trust protected properties shown on the tour included 544 acres on Little Table Rock Mountain (milepost 320), 131 acres at Altapass Ridge (milepost 327-328), 12 acres near Little Switzerland (MP 332 and 333), and a 53-acre open meadow and forested site (milepost 325). The Little Table Rock tract was transferred to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission for public use. The other properties were donated to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Parkway’s boundaries.