Grandfather Mountain: The Conservation Easement

Towering over the surrounding landscape, Grandfather Mountain’s 5,964-foot Calloway Peak is an iconic North Carolina natural landmark. It is also one of the most biologically important places in the entire Southern Appalachians, and home to more globally rare species than any mountain east of the Rockies.

In 1990 the Conservancy began working with Grandfather Mountain’s owners, the Morton family, by accepting the family’s donation of a conservation easement on 292 acres of wilderness surrounding the main tourist area. Over the next 17 years, the Mortons would donate and sell at discount a number of easements that eventually protected nearly the entire mountain—more than 3,700 acres.

As with many of the North Carolina Chapter’s transformative projects, Grandfather was not the first time the organization had used conservation easements. Instead, it was the first time the technique had been used at such a scale, and with such a long-range plan in mind.

“Grandfather showed us just how important conservation easements could be to achieve our mission,” says Fred Annand, who initially approached Hugh Morton about placing the mountain under protection. “The family wanted to retain ownership, but they wanted to ensure that development would never occur outside of the public use areas, so easements were a natural choice.”

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