None The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee Press Releases Search All Press Releases Gina Hancock 2021 21st Ave. South, Suite C-400 Nashville, TN 37212 (615) 383-9909 ghancock@tnc.org

Press Release

Date: 11/01/01

Brownsville -- The Nature Conservancy has purchased two properties totaling 1,224 acres along the Hatchie River in West Tennessee, including a portion of one of the most unique geological and biological sites in the area – Millstone Mountain.

The properties include a 1,063 acre tract in Lauderdale County known as the Crutcher Farm and 161 acres on Millstone Mountain in Tipton County. Rising sharply 160 feet above the otherwise gently sloped land of deep sandy soils, Millstone Mountain contains boulder-sized rocks and plants not typically found in West Tennessee. Though he purchased the property with the intent to develop homes on it, Dudley Bowden had a change of heart after he learned of the uniqueness of the tract. "Millstone is a very important place, properties like this are being lost fast to development and, there will never be any more like it. That is why I sold it to the Conservancy, I want to see it preserved in its natural state"

The two land purchases are the first cooperative deals between The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Lower Hatchie National Refuge in nearly 15 years. The Nature Conservancy secured a loan to purchase the tracts and will hold the properties until federal funding has been appropriated to USFWS. The Conservancy will then sell the properties to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge, which currently covers nearly 9,000 acres. The Crutcher tract should transfer to the USFWS this winter, while the Millstone Mountain tract will transfer later in the year.

"The Conservancy’s role to help the Lower Hatchie Refuge expand their boundary includes much more than purchasing land from willing sellers and selling to the refuge," said Scott Davis, State Director of The Nature Conservancy Tennessee chapter. "We also play a large role advocating for federal appropriations so the refuge has the funds it needs to expand."

Once added to the refuge, the newly acquired lands will be managed by the USFWS to sustain a rich diversity of wildlife and provide more public opportunities for outdoor and nature-oriented recreation, such as hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing and hunting. To learn more about these opportunities please contact the Lower Hatchie Refuge office at 731-287-0650.

Portions of the properties will continue to be farmed with wildlife valuable crops. The refuge also will plant native hardwood trees to reforest approximately 500 acres on the Crutcher tract this winter. The restoration and protection of these lands will result in the improvement of the water quality and natural habitats of the Hatchie River and surrounding lands, both primary objectives of the Conservancy’s Hatchie River conservation initiative based in Brownsville. "These purchases increase the forested buffer that filters pollution from runoff and helps improve the health of the Hatchie," said Alex Wyss director of the Conservancy’s West Tennessee office. The Hatchie River remains one of the most natural river systems in the lower Mississippi River Valley but is threatened by a variety of water quality stresses and loss of habitats.

Michael Stroeh, deputy project manager for the refuge, said The Nature Conservancy is helping the federal agency protect and restore valuable hardwood forests. The future health of this amazing river system requires restoration of its forested wetlands and upland buffers as well as protecting its outstanding existing resources, said Wyss. Echoing that message, Stroeh said the agency will continue to expand the refuge through acquisition from willing sellers in the coming years and begin immediate reforestation efforts on the properties. Such work will be a major tool in protecting the Hatchie River as well as improving wildlife habitat.