Tessentee Bottomland Preserve

LTLT acquired this 64-acre tract of bottomland and river bluff land at the junction of Tessentee Creek and the Little Tennessee River in November of 1999. This conservation project was made possible by grants from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, The Lyndhurst Foundation and significant donations from LTLT supporters. The land lies at the center of the north-south oriented Little Tennessee valley, which runs from Rabun Gap, Georgia to the town of Franklin, NC.

This was the first land protected on the free-flowing Little Tennessee, and now a decade later - with 30 land protection projects - more than 5200 acres and 35 miles of river frontage have been conserved.

LTLT’s purchase of the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve not only launched an extraordinary river corridor conservation initiative, it also created a laboratory for land restoration and stewardship in the valley.  At Tessentee we purchased an old dairy farm with diverse soils, abundant water, and an historic farmstead.  We conducted a detailed inventory and sought expert advice in developing a management plan to restore the rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage resources found here in the heart of the upper Little Tennessee River Valley.  

Here we have stabilized and reforested riverbanks, we have partially restored a wetland area, and we began our invasive exotic plant control program.  We’ve also initiated the long process of converting fescue pastures to more diverse grassland habitats and open woodlands. 

At Tessentee LTLT first began its collaboration with Cherokee artisans in the management and harvest of rivercane.  This collaboration has expanded to the establishment of experimental plantations of butternut and white oak for production of other traditional artisan materials.  The Tessentee Preserve is stop #53 on the NC Birding Trail with the preserve’s bird list at 115 species and butterfly list at 42 species and counting.  Here one can hike the most extensive trail system found on any LTLT property.  Volunteers have also helped to restore the historic farmstead – by restoring the apple house, smoke house, and in recent months the foundation of the historic farmhouse.

Now a decade later, the Tessentee Preserve is a rich mosaic of wildlife and plant habitats, and it serves as a microcosm of LTLT’s stewardship and restoration work in this historic valley.  It is a wonderful place to walk and to appreciate how extraordinarily rich and diverse is the upper Little Tennessee. 

LTLT Adds to Tessentee Bottomland Preserve

In December 2009, a bargain sale by Margaret Parks, in honor of her late husband, James (Jim) Parks, Jr., allowed the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) to add another 5.6 acres to its Tessentee Bottomland Preserve.  Parks sold the property to LTLT for less than one-half of its market value and financed one-half of the purchase price to allow LTLT time to raise funds for the project.  The Parks property will add yet another unique habitat to Tessentee Preserve. 

The Parks addition includes a large granite outcropping overlooking Tessentee Creek which contains a distinctive habitat with a profusion of plant life. It also commands a sweeping view of the broad Little Tennessee valley looking south towards Rabun Gap, Georgia.  The outcropping is said to have served as a “lookout” for the Cherokee and could have provided the vantage point on June 27, 1760 as the British and Colonial forces marched on the Middle Cherokee towns in the first battle of the “Cherokee Wars”.  That battle, which may have taken place on the bottomlands of the Tessentee Preserve, saw sixteen “Redcoats” and thirteen “Provincials” slain and seventy-six wounded in an ambush by the Cherokee.

The plentiful flora and fauna enjoyed by the Parks is due to an abundance of water resources and the diverse habitats created by the different soil types in the area.  The original Tessentee Bottomland Preserve contains nine soil types making it an extraordinary place for viewing wildlife.

 Click here for printable brochure and detailed map.