10 Reasons for Joy from 2025

2025 was not an easy year—and yet, looking back, we have so much to celebrate. We came into the year dealing with the aftermath of devastating flooding, landslides, and high winds. Then, in the spring we faced wildfires. Much needed but sometimes mishandled Helene debris removal brought major challenges for our rivers. On top of all that, there were federal cuts that downsized AmeriCorps Project Conserve.

We have all been through a lot this year! But even through all that, with your support, we were able to keep steadily doing the good work of conservation—protecting amazing places that inspire awe and support all kinds of life. Here are the top 10 stories that you made possible this year!

 

1. A Major Milestone: 50,000 Acres Protected!

This summer, we reached a major milestone. Conserving Carolina has now helped to protect over 50,000 acres! This includes treasured places like DuPont State Recreational Forest, Chimney Rock State Park, Headwaters State Forest, Little White Oak Mountain, Bearwallow Mountain and the growing Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail. Can you imagine if these places had not been protected? With your help, we continue to protect places of wonder, forever.

 

2. Vast Nature Preserve Near Lake Lure

This year, we bought the last big piece of an epic conservation project near Lake Lure! We purchased another 483 acres, bringing us to a total of 2,669 acres of protected wilderness. Part of this land is now Buffalo Creek Park, which includes Weed Patch Mountain Trail. The rest is owned by Conserving Carolina as the Joel Ridge Nature Preserve. Now, over 38 miles of mountain streams are protected, as well as important wildlife habitat. And we have plans for new segments of the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail.

 

3. Ecusta Trail Opens from Hendersonville to Horse Shoe

It was a great day when the first section of the Ecusta Trail opened this summer! The first six mile section, from Hendersonville to Horse Shoe, is highly popular. Accessible to people of all ages and abilities, the trail encourages outdoor recreation, with its many health benefits. The trail is also a huge boost for local businesses along the route. We look forward to the completion of the whole trail—running 19 miles all the way to Brevard!

 

4. Saluda Grade Purchased for Rail Trail

Conserving Carolina and our partners now own the 31-mile Saluda Grade rail line! This summer, we bought the corridor for a new rail trail that will travel from Upstate South Carolina into the mountains of Western North Carolina. The purchase was celebrated with fanfare at small towns along the route. Now, we are working with local communities, gathering input to make sure that we create the best possible version of the trail.

 

5. Fairview Community Forest—for Trails and Education

A former summer camp in Fairview will offer hiking and biking trails for the local community, in a protected forest that surrounds an outdoor education campus serving public school students. We bought 226 acres for the community forest, with plans to protect another 27.5 acres that forms the campus of the WORX Project. The WORX Project introduces students to potential career paths, while also giving kids a place to feel at home in nature.

 

6. Reopening Trails

Conserving Carolina’s trails are located in some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene. After the storm, all of our trails were closed, due to landslides, fallen trees, dramatically altered river crossings, and damaged roads. Since then, we have been able to reopen most trails, giving people access to nature, which we need for our wellbeing, especially in the wake of disaster. In some places, we are still working toward reopening trails, which remain closed due to restricted roads or major landslides.

 

7. Supporting Landowners After Helene

After Hurricane Helene, many landowners unexpected challenges—first, damage from the storm and later, threats from a debris removal process in which some contractors did their job well but others did unnecessary harm to water and wildlife. We worked with owners of private conservation land on plans to restore and even improve impacted areas. And we advocated for landowners to have more say in how debris removal was carried out on their property. On our own preserves, we worked with contractors to carry out debris removal while minimizing impacts to natural resources.

 

8. Restoring Natural Areas Along Our Rivers

Hurricane Helene demonstrated how much we need natural floodplains, especially as we face more extreme weather. Not only do these natural areas along our rivers act like sponges that reduce the risks from floods and droughts; they also give us clean water and bring back much needed habitat for wildlife. We were delighted this year to discover that beavers are helping us expand the wetlands at Pleasant Grove! In 2025, the Kings Bridge restoration site opened to the public, PBS NC did a show about the benefits of restorations during Helene, and we moved forward on six new restoration projects.

 

9. Growing a Love for Nature

Our best hope for protecting nature is to make sure that people of all ages and backgrounds feel their deep connection to our living world and are passionate about protecting it. Conserving Carolina helps to light this spark through field trips, youth programs, and school partnerships. We also host guided hikes, nature walks, and forest bathing, and we hold six speaker series throughout our region. We also have a robust volunteer program, with over 150 workdays last year! Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers!

 

10. More Land for Trails

We are always creating new places to get outdoors! Here are four more places we purchased for trails or greenways in 2025. We bought land to expand the Oklawaha Greenway along a bird-rich wetland, right in the City of Hendersonville. We acquired another property in Brevard with a segment of the Estatoe Greenway that is popular with birders, which will become a local park. We bought land that will be an anchor for the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail as we work toward our goal of encircling Lake Lure. And we bought a historic property that will allow us to bring back trails next to the hospital in Polk County!  

Thank you for a wonderful 2025… and a promising new year!

We cannot thank you enough for making this such an important year for conservation! And next year holds so much promise. You can help us:

• Progress toward 50+ miles of connected rail trails
• Open new trails in the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail system
• Restore more natural areas along the French Broad River
• Protect farmland, forests, wetlands, and rivers
• Bring joy to people of all ages, through connection with nature!

We hope you will continue protecting the places that we need so much by making a year-end gift and by staying connected throughout the new year.

Thank you from all of us at Conserving Carolina!