Top 10 Conservation Stories from 2024
In a year that was beyond tumultuous, you can be proud of all the ways you are making our communities stronger through your support of Conserving Carolina. You are making our landscape safer and more resilient. You are opening new parks and trails where people can connect with nature. And you are saving much-needed natural areas where wildlife can thrive.
Here are ten of our top stories from 2024. Which means the most to you personally?
1. Over 1 Billion Gallons of Water Stored During Helene
After Helene, we found that just three of our natural floodplain restorations—Mouth of Mud Creek, Pleasant Grove, and Kings Bridge—stored over 1.25 billion gallons of water! Natural floodplains give the water a place to go, rather than sending all that water rushing downstream. As we face more extreme weather due to climate change, we can make our landscape more resilient by expanding the network of conservation land and restored natural floodplains along our waterways. With your help, we hope to move forward on 9 more restorations in the coming year.
2. New: Land Purchased for Wetlands and Greenway Expansion
We have a brand new project to tell you about! We just purchased 24 acres next to Jackson Park in Hendersonville with so much potential. This tract is needed to expand the Oklawaha Greenway and connect it with Blue Ridge Community College. There are wetlands on the property, continuing the wetlands that make Jackson Park such a hotspot for birding. And we hope to restore degraded streams and drained wetlands, bringing back vital habitat. The property also buffers a rare Southern Appalachian Mountain Bog, a haven for numerous endangered species.
3. Two Natural Floodplains Restored Along the French Broad River
In 2024, we completed two new natural floodplain restorations along the French Broad River, one on public land and one on private land. At the Kings Bridge Wildlife Conservation Area in Mills River, we restored 87 acres including a fish habitat slough, a wetland, and reforestation along the river. Kings Bridge will reopen in 2025 for fishing, birding, and wildlife observation. We also restored 20 acres in Etowah, working with the landowners to create a fish habitat slough, reforestation area, and pollinator meadow.
4. Bell Park Opens in Saluda
There’s a new park for you to explore in Saluda, with 1.8 miles of hiking trails and an observation deck beside a waterfall! Named in honor of summer camp pioneers Frank and Calla Bell, Bell Park is located on the slopes of the Green River Gorge and it borders the Green River Game Lands, expanding a vast corridor of protected wildlife habitat. Conserving Carolina acquired the 69-acre property in 2015 and worked with Henderson County to make it a local park.
5. Cedar Cliffs Purchased for Nature Preserve
Land in Polk County that was long a top priority for conservation is now protected! With strong community support, we purchased 192 acres for a nature preserve called Cedar Cliffs at Twin Bridges. In an area with exceptional biodiversity, Cedar Cliffs forms an essential link in protected wildlife corridors. It connects two Conserving Carolina preserves—Melrose Falls and Norman Wilder Forest—and it borders the future Saluda Grade Trail. The land has headwater streams that flow into the North Pacolet River.
6. Saluda Grade Trail Under Contract
We are officially under contract to purchase the Saluda Grade rail corridor for a new rail trail! With our partners in the Saluda Grade Trails Conservancy, Conserving Carolina went under contract on the 31-mile rail line in late summer with one year to finalize the purchase. The proposed trail along the historic rail line would extend from Upstate South Carolina into the mountains of Western North Carolina. This summer, we also presented the results of an in-depth study of the proposed trail, including extensive public input.
7. Ecusta Trail Under Construction
2024 was a year of exciting progress on the Ecusta Trail, with the first six miles of trail under construction! This section, from Hendersonville to Horse Shoe, would have opened in December but was delayed due to damage from Helene. Fortunately, the trail withstood the epic flooding without severe impacts and this section is now expected to open in the summer of 2025. The full 19-mile rail trail from Hendersonville to Brevard is expected to open by late 2027.
8. Expanded Partnership with the Cherokee
9. Fixing Our Trails After Helene
Conserving Carolina trails are located in some of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene and all of them had major impacts from the storm. We have been working hard to clear downed trees, repair gaping holes from torn-out root balls, and address landslides—in some cases major landslides. We are so grateful for the support we’ve received to fix our trails! At this time, Strawberry Gap Trail and Trombatore Trail have reopened. In some cases, we are not yet able to open trails because roads are inaccessible and because we want to avoid strain on local communities as they recover from Helene.
10. Land Added to Green River Game Lands
2024 also saw new public lands created with the addition of 175 acres to the Green River Game Lands. It was part of a dramatic turnaround after neighbors in Saluda organized to fight a proposed gun range. After stopping the gun range, they focused on conserving the beautiful land around their homes. This led to two additions to the Game Lands for a total of 251 acres of new public land, along with the conservation of 44 acres of private land—nearly 300 acres protected in all.
Can You Help Us Protect Amazing Places in 2025?
As we look forward, we have big goals for 2025, but we need your help. In coming year, we see potential to:
- Protect and restore more land along waterways—for flood safety, clean water, and wildlife habitat.
- Buy land to expand the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail network, working toward our goal of 100+ miles.
- Close on the Saluda Grade Trail corridor and celebrate the opening of the first section of the Ecusta Trail.
- Repair the sometimes catastrophic impacts on our trails and nature preserves from Hurricane Helene.
- Expand community engagement so more people are inspired to love and protect nature.
Will you please help by making a year-end donation? All gifts to Conserving Carolina are tax-deductible. If you want to make sure your gift counts as a 2024 contribution, here are details about how to donate.