http://carolinamountain.org
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy’s (CMLC) mission is to help landowners protect
local land and water resources vital to our natural heritage and quality of life. As a local
nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the places you love, CMLC is helping to create a
regional network of protected farm, forest, park and natural lands.
CMLC serves Henderson, Transylvania, and parts of neighboring counties, protecting
forested wilderness, working farms, clean drinking water, healthy fishing streams, native
wildlife, and sweeping views. Partnering with private landowners, community visionaries,
organizations like Carolina Mountain Club, estate management professionals, and western
North Carolina’s land trust network, Blue Ridge Forever, CMLC works to educate the
public on the importance of conversation. One way CMLC raises awareness about the
practice of land conservation is by leading monthly hikes on exclusive properties. Every
other hike is for members only so CMLC members enjoy the added benefit of 6 special
hikes every year!
Celebrating 15 years of conservation in 2009, CMLC’s efforts have protected more than
18,500 acres and we continue protecting land for future generations. We've grown from a
purely volunteer organization to 10 staff and 5 AmeriCorps members today. The past few years alone have been
monumental for CMLC. In 2005, for example, CMLC protected 1,568 acres of land in the
Hickory Nut Gorge known as the nationally-significant World's Edge, which has become
part of North Carolina's newly formed Chimney Rock State Park. In 2007, CMLC also
celebrated a banner year by completing the organization’s largest conservation project to
date, which protected more than 3,000 pristine acres in the upper Green River watershed,
and 20 other projects; more than in any previous year. In 2008, CMLC became the first
North Carolina land trust awarded national accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation
Commission, and broke ground on our new permanent home! Come take a tour of our new
office located at 847 Case Street in Hendersonville.
Our newest project called, Weed Patch Mountain, will serve as one of the essential links for
the publicly accessible Six Summits Trail which would circumnavigate Lake Lure and
eventually connect to the Hickory Nut Gorge trail system. Time is running out and we hope
you will seriously consider joining and supporting us in this cause. We need your help to
protect the special places remaining in our mountain home. Join now by clicking here or discover other ways to support
CMLC by clicking here.