Blue Ridge Conservancy is pleased to announce the hiring of Abbey Rankins as the Conservancy’s Land Protection & Stewardship Fellow. This position is part of the Wyss Fellows Program that aims to foster the next generation of conservation professionals, and over the two years of the program Rankins will meet with a cohort of other Fellows from six conservation organizations across the country.
Read MoreBlue Ridge Conservancy was recently awarded $100,000 from the Recreational Trails Program through the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation for the construction of Phase 1 of the Northern Peaks State Trail on Three Top Mountain. Phase 1 will be approximately four miles long, beginning on the east end of the Three Top Mountain Game Land. BRC plans to break ground in the spring of this year.
Read MoreA partnership of non-profit organizations is working to provide options for landowners now considering conservation in the wake of hurricane Helene. While property owners with damaged homes may be eligible for federal buy-out programs, the scale of Helene’s impact is leading some landowners of undeveloped land to consider a conservation sale, especially for lands within a floodplain. The New River Conservancy and Blue Ridge Conservancy are actively developing resources to provide landowners with market-value alternatives to development if plans have changed.
Read MoreThe Town of Boone was recently awarded $54,932 from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), through the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation to fund the southern terminus of the Northern Peaks State Trail (NPST) in downtown Boone. In addition to the RTP award, the Town of Boone and the Downtown Boone Development Association are providing matching funds of $7,689 each, with Blue Ridge Conservancy providing professional trail design. The trail will be constructed at the Rivers House Park at 130 Clay House Drive in downtown Boone, on 13 acres donated to the town by Rachel Rivers-Coffey.
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