MCNEELY CONSERVATION EASEMENT

McNeely Property, Wilkes Co, 562 acres

In 2021, landowner Scott McNeely purchased 562 acres of land in the Ronda area of Wilkes County with the goal of keeping the property intact to bolster wildlife populations. As part of his ongoing effort to return the land to a pristine state, Scott is converting an old cattle farm into a wildlife haven by establishing a mix of habitat types throughout the property. He and BRC reached an agreement for a conservation easement on the property that will allow for habitat management and recreational use that are in harmony with wildlife conservation.

The McNeely property meets several of BRC’s focus area criteria to permanently protect natural resources with agricultural, cultural, recreational, ecological, and scenic value. The land contains diverse and varied habitat beneficial to wildlife species including large and small game, migratory songbirds, and pollinators. Specifically, the property provides food, shelter, breeding ground, and migration corridors for several wildlife species including white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, black bear, foxes, squirrels, salamanders, crayfish, box turtles, painted turtles, and pollinator species such as bees (various species), butterflies, moths, and bats. The property’s wildlife habitat includes early successional habitat, riparian zone habitat, and forestland edge habitat. The land provides natural habitat for several bird species, including red tailed hawks, bald eagles, osprey, Cooper’s hawks, sharp shinned hawks, great horned owl, barred owl, screech owl, martins, blue birds, and wood ducks.

It includes 4.2 miles of streams including West Swan Creek and East Swan Creek, both of which are rated Water Supply IV by the NC Division of Water Resources. In addition to its ecological value, the property has 300 acres of Prime Farmland as classified by the United State Department of Agriculture.

Blue Ridge Conservancy Implements Remote Monitoring Technology to Increase Efficiency

“Maintaining landowner relationships remains paramount to our monitoring program. Remote monitoring has increased our ability to spend more time with landowners and our capacity to address other conservation easement and land management issues. The implementation of remote monitoring has greatly increased efficiency as our portfolio of lands and stewardship responsibilities continue to grow.”

- Ben Lucas, BRC Stewardship Director

BRC’s Stewardship Director Ben Lucas annually monitors over 200 conservation easements and preserves throughout our seven-county service area. Traditional monitoring consists of boots on the ground site visits to each property at least annually and includes visiting with landowners, discussing land management issues, documenting any changes to the protected property, and walking and posting boundaries.

Remote monitoring, on the other hand, can be defined as monitoring from an off-site location. In 2021, BRC was one of 18 land trusts in the country to be awarded a grant through the Land Trust Alliance’s pilot Remote Monitoring Grant Program. The grant allowed BRC to test the use of high spatial and temporal resolution satellite imagery for property inspections. Over the course of the year, this technology provided BRC with recently captured imagery of its properties from a variety of commercial sources on a regular basis.

We are now in our third year of remote monitoring, and it has proven to be an effective tool that has saved the organization valuable resources. Many of BRC’s properties are large, rugged, remote mountainous tracts that can take a day to walk, and hours of travel time. Additionally, BRC tracked its return on investment and compared the cost of remote monitoring with on-site monitoring and the time and cost savings were substantial.

StateTrail

The Northern Peaks State Trail (NPST), one of twelve State Trails in North Carolina, was authorized by the NC General Assembly in 2019. Blue Ridge Conservancy is the primary partner organization for the construction of the trail. The planned corridor for the trail is approximately 40 miles long, connecting Howard Knob Park in Boone to Mount Jefferson in Ashe County. The Northern Peaks are often referred to as the Amphibolite Mountains and include Howard Knob, Elk Knob, Snake Mountain, Three Top Mountain, The Peak, Paddy Mountain, and Mount Jefferson.

Several parts of the trail are currently in the planning stages, including a significant portion of Elk Knob State Park. Plans are in place for a loop portion of trail in the backcountry camping area of the Park, and a North Carolina Natural Heritage Program inventory along several of the possible trail routes was recently completed. “Our number one priority is the environmental impact of the trail. We are working diligently to do things the right way and to build a trail that is consistent with BRC’s mission of protecting the places we love,” says NPST Coordinator Jordan Sellers, noting that the survey data will be used to select a route that does not disrupt sensitive natural areas.

Another portion of the trail currently in development is a park on BRC’s recently acquired land on Paddy Mountain in West Jefferson. Plans for this park include three miles of stacked loop hiking trail, a parking area, restrooms, and a pavilion. The park will serve as a trailhead for the NPST, and has received overwhelming support from residents of Ashe County and West Jefferson.

Unlike State Parks, which are operated and managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation, State Trails are composed of multiple connected sections and depend on regional partnerships. Each section of the trail is sponsored by a federal, state, or local government agency, nonprofit organization, or private landowner. Sellers considers this one of the many positives of the project, and believes this will lead to its success: “This is an opportunity to work with community members, local governments, and various other stakeholders in creating what will be one of the most unique and beautiful trails in the region.”

The NPST is a partnership between Blue Ridge Conservancy, the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, Watauga County Tourism Development Authority, Ashe County, Ashe County Chamber of Commerce, West Jefferson Tourism Development Authority, and the Town of Boone.

“BRC is fortunate to have Jordan join our staff as our NPST Coordinator. His singular focus on the trail and concern for building it in an environmentally responsible way greatly advance the project. Jordan’s career in real estate is a specific asset as we work to connect the communities of Boone and West Jefferson via this hiking trail.”

-Charlie Brady BRC Executive Director

The Trail so Far

2019 - Northern Peaks designated as a State Trail by the General Assembly

2022 - Funding for Biological Survey and Trails Coordinator secured

Since then:

$3.4 million awarded to Elk Knob State Park by PARTF for:

• 4.5 mile Northside Loop

• ~2 mile Southside Summit Approach Trail

• Southside Trailhead, Parking, Bridge, Restrooms

• Breaking ground 2023

• NHP survey complete on Northside

Currently in Progress:

• NHP study complete on Three Top Mountain, Seeking trail alignment

• Planning for Paddy Mountain Park and trails system