Cowee Valley farmland.

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) is gearing up for a second decade of service to the community, said Paul Carlson, executive director of the Franklin-based branch.

Carlson addressed the League of Women Voters this month, discussing strategies the land trust envisions to help the community move into the new economic environment. Carlson said that LTLT, a nonprofit organization devoted to land conservation along the Little Tennessee and Hiawasee River vallies, will devote more resources to bolstering connections between the land and the community.

Jim Moore at the Springridge Dairy, protected under easement through the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee.

The LTLT was incorporated as a non-profit agency in 1999 and has since assisted in conserving 18,000 acres in the western six counties of North Carolina. Fifteen years ago, said Carlson, conservation easements were unheard of. Today, he said, they are a given.

A paradigm shift occurred when the land trust was formed, said Carlson, and as an offshoot of it, the Little Tennessee Watershed Association was created. “The Little Tennessee River was recognized as a local, state and national treasure,” he said.

Local jellies offered for sale. Kate Parkerson with LTLT said the LTLT is highlighting local food production, saying, “locally produced food nourishes and strengthens our families and communities, sustains our mountain farming traditions and protects our natural resources through productive land conservation practices.”

“We see ourselves continuing to connect people with the land,” said Carlson. “We’re looking ahead and gearing up. Ramifications of the recession are just unfolding; reality is shifting.”

The LTLT will continue work to protect the area’s cultural landscape, which Carlson said has been home to peoples for 10,000 years. “It is part of the continuity we can see and feel,” he said. “The connection of people to the land is so key to future conservation.”

Baby lambs at the Tinsley Farm in Macon County.

LTLT is partnering with three community farmer’s markets to increase their exposure by launching their summer seasons with festivals at the downtown Sylva Farmers Market Saturday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to noon; the downtown Franklin Farmer’s Market, Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to noon; and the downtown Hayesville Farmer’s Market Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to noon.

On Saturday, July 25, at the height of the summer season, LTLT will hold its first annual “Local Food Gala.” This fundraising event will include an open-air evening of music and entertainment with a multicourse dinner prepared by local chefs using foods exclusively grown locally.

Locals and visitors alike enjoy shopping for produce at the Jackson County Farmer’s Market.

The LTLT also conducts a systematic invasive plant control program which is particularly helpful in stewarding old farmland, said Carlson. “Our role is to be there when needed,” he said of farmland preservation. “We’ve had a hugely successful first decade. Our measures of success are clear and extraordinary.”

The LTLT worked to return the Cowee Mound and 70 surrounding acres to tribal ownership and to protect the Cowee-West Mill Historic District, the largest historic district in the Western part of the state.

Cowee-West Mill district is also the richest in history in the whole state, said Carlson, citing the fact that the area has a documented 1400 years of man-made structures. “It is an exceptional resource in North Macon,” he said.

Revitalizing rural communities is an essential goal to the LTLT. The surest way to revitalizing rural areas, said Carlson, is in the preservation of land and historic structures that inspire people. “Our most successful tool is preservation,” he said, adding that 30 years ago it was standard practice to knock old buildings down and build anew, creating what he called a “lifeless landscape.”

This year, the LTLT entered a national accreditation process with the Land Trust Alliance. Carlson said the organization is adopting policies for work and legal records. “We see ourselves in the long haul playing a key role West of the Balsams,” he said. Carlson said that while public funding may be short, what must be watched is the cutting of public policy. “We need to step up to the best use for fragile lands,” he said. “Budget cutting is necessary, but we need to watch policy cutting.”

Of the LTLT celebrating its second decade of service to the community, Carlson said, “We have a record of catalyzing change. We must challenge ourselves to recognize the value of less expendible income.”

For more information on the upcoming food galas or other events of the LTLT, call (828) 524-2711 or visit www.ltlt.org online.