Profile: Jay Leutze

Jay Leutze looking at Big Yellow Mountain © TNC

Jay Leutze is one of those people for whom the word “volunteer” simply does not do justice. From his home nestled in the mountains of the Greater Roan Highlands, he looks out at a view that inspires him to devote countless hours to its protection.

On behalf of these mountains, Jay has lobbied at the federal and state level for additional funding for land and water protection, helped draft legislation designed to protect mountain resources from poor planning, served on boards that do environmental education, drafted a book about environmental law and led countless field trips to introduce others to the beauty of the Roan Highlands.

His parents, both academics, built a house on Big Yellow Mountain in 1971. The family spent summers hiking, fly fishing, seeking out animals and wildflowers and forming a deep connection to the land. During his years at college, in law school and even a stint in London, the mountains always called to Jay—and in 1993 he finally heeded that call.

Upon deciding to make Big Yellow his permanent home, Jay immediately got involved with conservation, in the form of a joint Big Yellow Mountain Stewardship Committee organized by The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC). The Conservancy and SAHC have worked together in the landscape since the 1970s, and Jay now serves on SAHC’s board of directors.

“Each partner offers something unique to the protection of these mountains,” says Jay. “Volunteering for both of them means that I often switch hats—literally and figuratively—which allows me to be involved in different ways.”

Both organizations forge relationships with landowners and public agencies, and both own and manage land. Partnering enables the organizations’ strengths to complement each other.

“Each partner is the best at what they do, and their best efforts combine really well in the Roan Highlands,” says Jay. “I’m hooked on the work I do for both of them.”

Jay particularly enjoys taking people onto these mountains for the first time. From the top, they can appreciate the wonder of the place and finally grasp what landscape-scale conservation means.

“You can see three states’ worth of conservation, from the ridges and valleys of Tennessee to Mount Rogers in Virginia to North Carolina landmarks like Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge, Snake Mountain and Mount Mitchell,” he says. “I can point in every direction and say, ‘That’s protected’ and to seemingly pristine places and say, ‘But that is not.’ I tell them that science has shown us how very fragile and vulnerable this place is, and that there are still wonderful opportunities for protection. Then I tell them how threats like climate change make a difficult job that much more challenging.”

Standing on the Greater Roan Highlands and listening to Jay’s stirring words, Nature Conservancy supporters come to deeply understand why protecting these mountains is more important than ever. From a man who gives so much to conservation, this is perhaps his greatest gift of all.