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About
Us |
The
Land Trust for the
Little Tennessee
88 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1148
Franklin, NC 28744-1148
Phone: 828-524-2711
Fax: 828-524-4741
Email: LTLT
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The Sylva Herald December 5 , 2007 |
| WCU professor praised for land preserve SYLVA — On Tuesday, the town of Sylva celebrated the conservation of more than 1,000 acres of the Fisher Creek watershed, particularly noting Western Carolina University’s Peter Bates’ contribution to the project and others like it. “Pete’s a great scholar, a great teacher and a great forester,” said Paul Carlson, director of the Land Trust for Little Tennessee, an organization that helped facilitate the conservation plan. Sylva town officials sold rights to timber management and real estate development of the area, also known as Pinnacle Park, to the state for $3.5 million. Under the agreement, the town continues to own the land and can use it for nonmotorized recreation, such as hiking, Carlson said. The deal was completed in October. Bates, a professor of natural resource conservation at WCU, helped provide Sylva officials with “information to make an informed decision about what they want to do with the property,” he said. In 2005, a group of Bates’ students conducted an inventory of the area’s forests and presented a report to the town board. “It gives them (the students) hands-on experience,” Bates said. “We are proud that we can reach out and serve the community in that way.” Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and the Southwestern Commission regional council of governments also sent a letter to WCU Chancellor John Bardo praising Bates for his work in conservation projects involving more than 10,000 acres in Western North Carolina. |
