Annual Giving Letter
Dear Friend:
The approaching holidays are a time of celebration, and we at The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy give thanks for all you have helped us achieve through your generous past support.
In the past eighteen months, your commitment has enabled us to secure 4,300 more acres of critical privately owned lands at twenty extraordinary sites around the region, including key properties in the globally significant Highlands of Roan; a high-elevation ridge near the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Plott Balsam Mountains near Waterrock Knob; and family agricultural producers like the Claxton Farm, Hickory Nut Gap Farm and others. We have also made major strides toward completing protection of the incredible Rocky Fork tract on the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee, with our partners The Conservation Fund, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and others.
These special places are priceless for the scenic beauty, wildlife habitat and local foods they provide, and as sources of safe drinking water for thousands of people.
Because annual membership dues cover only a small portion of the cost of our work, each year we provide an additional opportunity for you to support the Conservancy through our Annual Giving Program. This program helps give us the capacity to fulfill our responsibilities and remain effective. Our goal this year is $120,000. We can do this only with your help.
Our success has resulted from our core values of striving to be strategic, effective and accountable:
• Strategic
We carefully plan, map, and prioritize our efforts, and rigorously select the best lands for conservation. As we negotiate and complete transactions, we follow the highest professional standards to ensure that the lands we secure now are permanently preserved for future generations.
We continue to catalyze new strategic partnerships in the globally significant Highlands of Roan in order to maximize our efficiency and achievements there. For example, we are partnering with The Nature Conservancy, the Blue Ridge Conservancy, and the State of North Carolina to protect land for a new State Natural Area, called the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area. This initiative opens new doors for additional state funding to add thousands of acres in the next few years for the public to use and enjoy in this rich part of the Highlands of Roan.
In the new State Natural Area, we have protected more than 1,500 acres so far, with other major opportunities in the pipeline. These properties are chart-topping in terms of their magnificent scenic beauty; vanishing habitat for birds and native trout and other wildlife, rare plants; and pristine headwaters of public drinking water supplies, which will be protected forever through our efforts.
• Effective
We develop creative solutions to safeguard threatened resources while meeting landowners' needs. We employ skill and perseverance to raise the funds necessary to seize opportunities on key conservation lands. This entails seeking public funding from county, state and federal agencies, matched with private gifts from foundations and committed individuals. We courageously borrow from conservation-based lenders like The Conservation Fund, the Open Space Institute, and the Will Henry Stevens Loan Fund to enable us to act quickly. The winning outcome is protecting important sites forever, while meeting the landowner's needs.
• Accountable
As a tax-exempt charity, we hold SAHC accountable to our members, the public, and all who hold a stake in safeguarding our mountains for years to come. We apply rigorous professional standards in our conservation work, to ensure that our accomplishments endure for the long term. Reflecting our commitment to excellence, we became accredited this year by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a status enjoyed by only a small fraction of land trusts in the nation.
We pledge to continue our efforts to achieve remarkable conservation victories in the coming year.
In order to meet our operating budget and keep our organization running strong as we reach out to landowners, complete transactions, and steward the land, we need the most generous support you can give to our Annual Giving Program. Your contribution to this program plays a crucial role in enabling our work.
If you have recently sent us a contribution, thank you. Please share this appeal by passing it along to a friend or colleague so that they may join us in protecting the world's oldest mountains for future generations.
We thank you for your support in this important effort, and wish you a happy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Witt Langstaff, Jr. Carl Silverstein
President, Board of Trustees Executive Director
P.S. Over the past 36 years, you've helped us protect over 47,000 acres. Your contribution today will help us secure 9,000 more acres in progress at key locations like the Roan Highlands, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Black Mountains, and Sandy Mush! Your gift today will continue the work you've begun.
Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-888-830-4989. The license is not an endorsement by the state.
