SAHC Protects 310 Acres in Weaverville, NC Watershed

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy recently worked with the Town of Weaverville, NC to place a conservation easement on 310 acres of the Weaverville Watershed. The easement protects important headwaters of Reems Creek as well as forested habitat and scenic views from Reems Creek Valley.

“This property provided drinking water to the Town of Weaverville for 80 years and is important for conservation because of its water resources,” said Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese. “It contains the headwaters of Eller Cove Branch and 12 of its tributaries, which run into Reems Creek and eventually the French Broad River. One of the best ways to preserve water quality downstream is by protecting a river’s headwaters – and that is exactly what has happened here. We are grateful to the Town of Weaverville for taking the step to protect this tract and its natural resources for posterity.”

The tract contains a total of 4.2 miles (over 22,000 linear feet) of stream corridor, and its conservation helps protect tributary streams of the French Broad River Watershed from sources of sedimentation and other types of pollution. Eller Cove Branch is classified by the NC Division of Water Quality as Water Supply I and High Quality Water. The Town of Weaverville purchased the watershed property in 1911 and used it as the sole source of drinking water until 1993, when the source was changed to the Ivy River.

The conservation easement also protects habitat for diverse wildlife species. Largely forested since the late 1880s, the tract contains mature Chestnut Oak Forest as well as Rich Cove Forest and Montane Oak-hickory Forest. A third of the property falls within the Audubon Society’s Bull Creek Cerulean Important Bird Area – an approx. 5,000 acre area.

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