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Gorges State Park and South Mountains Game Land: Collaborative Conservation

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South Mountains
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The late nineties saw the Conservancy engage in two large projects that exemplify collaborative conservation at its finest. In each case, the Conservancy worked with local land trusts and state agencies to protect large tracts that were destined for the real estate market.

When landowners put more than 17,000 acres
adjacent to South Mountains State Park near Morganton up for sale, local conservationists formed the Foothills Conservancy to conduct a plant inventory and protect the tract. Susie Hamrick Jones, the organization’s director, approached the Conservancy for assistance. This led to a four-year process that culminated in the creation of the South Mountains Game Land, spanning more than 14 miles along the spine of the mountain range.

“The beauty of this project was that it combined the strengths of the local land trust with the strengths of The Nature Conservancy,” says Chapter Director Katherine Skinner. It also made the value of public/private partnerships clear. “The Foothills Conservancy generated local support and encouraged local legislators to support the public funding, the Wildlife Commission led the way for an appropriation and the Nature Conservancy negotiated the land deal and helped secure the funding to purchase the property.”

At around the same time as the South Mountains project, the Conservancy was working with state agencies, and other environmental organizations to acquire nearly 10,000 acres from Duke Energy in the Jocassee Gorges area of Transylvania County on the South Carolina border.

“The land was connected to more than 30,000 acres of protected land in South Carolina, so it was critical that we find a way to preserve the tract,” says Fred Annand.

The initial plan was to make the land into a state park, but many local residents wanted to ensure that they could continue to hunt and fish on the property, as they had been able to do when it was privately owned. After several rounds of negotiations, all parties agreed on a combination of land uses, leading to the creation of the Gorges State Park and the Toxaway Game Land.

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