Our #1 Ranked Private Property

Wolf River Conservancy has been assessing and ranking private properties within the Wolf River watershed for a long time. Based on a scientific process specific to our watershed and formalized over 12 years ago, our strategic conservation plan is updated each time a property is conserved. For the entirety of those 12+ years, the same tract of private property has ranked as #1 conservation priority. This property has very high conservation values and sits prominently on the Wolf River with over 2.7 miles of river frontage. We have kept in touch with the landowners for two decades, and suddenly had an abrupt and fleeting  opportunity to conserve this land was. The Conservancy had to act fast, or else a logging interest was poised to extract the maximum timber value from the property. This would have eliminated a generation (80 years) of forest growth on the land, which had only seen select harvests for wind damage and to ensure oaks and hickories were the dominant species.  

Thankfully WRC has great partners! One of them - Ducks Unlimited (DU) - stepped up with a massive financial commitment, without which this property would likely not have been saved in its current condition. This property is a priority tract for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and also has support from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Natural Areas. Thus, the State of Tennessee has also invested in this critically important conservation project. If all of the stars align as projected, the property will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, birding, and exploration by May of 2026. Hopefully, everyone will get to experience the towering swamp-chestnut oaks, water oaks, bitternut hickories, and baldcypress that create a mystical mature forest ambiance. Paddlers down the Rossville to Piperton section of Wolf River will also enjoy the peace of mind from the knowledge that more river miles are protected from poor resource management and development. This wonderful project links together over 5,800 acres of public conservation lands along 14 continuous miles of protected river frontage.

To celebrate a jubilant end to 2025, our 40^th birthday, please raise your beverage this holiday season and toast the protection of a large 768-acre block of wetland forest that recharges the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

Happy Holidays! Donations welcome.

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