Farmland Preservation at the Gateway to North Carolina

In mid-December 2004 LTLT acquired a "working farm conservation easement" on the Spring Ridge Dairy - one of the largest riverfront farms at the head of the valley. The dairy lies at the gateway to North Carolina for visitors traveling up US 441 to the mountains from the south. The Spring Ridge Dairy was built by the hard work of Jim Moore, and his late wife Judy. The creamery, located on the four-lane highway a mile north of the Georgia state line, sells the richest milk and ice cream in the region.

The conservation agreement will ensure that the broad bottomland along a mile of river will be protected from development and always remain available for farming. In addition to protecting farmland and the rural scenery at the Gateway to North Carolina, the agreement conserves the heart of the battlefield site in which a British-led force of 2,800 men in 1761 defeated the Cherokee in what was known as the second battle of Echoe during the "French and Indian War" in the South.

Funding for this project came from the USDA Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and from over $80,000 of key donations from LTLT members and supporters. This project is a huge step for farmland preservation in our valley.