State Expands Forestland Conservation on South Cumberland

NASHVILLE – State Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens today announced the recent acquisition of a 1,900-acre permanent conservation easement to expand the Big Forks Tree Farm and Wildlife Management Area on the Southern Cumberland Plateau. The acquisition is the culmination of a seven-year effort to bring more than 3,000 acres under conservation management in the area.

“The Big Forks Forest Legacy project is an excellent example of how individuals and conservation organizations can partner with state and federal agencies to ensure working forests remain a part of Tennessee’s landscape forever,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “I commend the landowners first for having a conservation vision for this property, and all the partners who helped make it possible.”

The Big Forks tract in Marion County represents one of the state’s largest conservation easements purchased through the federally funded Forest Legacy Program. The USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program provides federal matching funds to help states conserve forestlands at risk of development. Additional funding for the $1.4 million purchase was provided from the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund and a Lyndhurst Foundation grant through the Nature Conservancy.

This acquisition is in addition to a 1,114-acre conservation easement obtained by the state in 2005. Property management will be monitored by the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry and will likely include wildlife habitat, timber production, recreation and educational activities.

“We are proud to have played a role in helping to secure the future of this property as a working forest,” said Givens. “The Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry is committed to helping manage this property with the highest degree of care for the benefit of the citizens of Tennessee.”

The Big Forks Tree Farm and Wildlife Management Area is owned by Phil and Sarah Gwynn. The property was conveyed to Mrs. Gwynn by her late father, Z. Carter Patten Jr., in the 1970s. Increasingly, the Gwynns became concerned about encroachment of residential development in the surrounding area. As a result, they began looking for ways to preserve Big Forks as a working forest. Working with the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy, the Gwynns contacted state forestry officials about the Forest Legacy Program.

"It is our hope that the Big Forks property will serve as a learning tool for young people in helping to enhance their interests in nature and conservation," said Phil Gwynn.

According to assistant state forester David Arnold, who worked closely with the Gwynns on the project, the property is “one of the best examples of sustainable forestry management on private, non-industrial forestlands in the state.”

The project was also supported by the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, The Land Trust for Tennessee, The Conservation Fund, the Cumberland Trail Conference, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

For more information on the Agriculture Department’s Division of Forestry and Forest Legacy Program visit www.TN.gov/agriculture.