Land Trusts are Vital Links for Regional Conservation Planning and Management
AppLCC staff and Rick Huffines, Executive Director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, tour the Gorge after a science delivery workshop.
Over 20 participants representing 12 local organizations participated in this science delivery workshop. This included staff of neighboring land trusts in the area who had the opportunity at this meeting to discuss common challenges they are dealing with and how to better work together to enhance capacity and overcome barriers.
The workshop familiarized participants with the Appalachian LCC - its mission, recent activities, and newly developed resources available to partners to improve their conservation efforts. The workshop provided a wealth of regional information and provided a larger context to the local conservation taking place in the greater Chattanooga, Tennessee area.
“I worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back in 2009 when we started talking about LCCs and I realized that what we hoped for back then was finally coming to fruition,” said Huffines. “I was just overwhelmed to see how far the LCC had advanced and felt there was a need to share my excitement with others.”
After the workshop, Rick brought the Cooperative staff out into the field to get a beautiful view of the Gorge, a reminder of the beautiful places Land Trusts protect and the value of all of our work.
