Partnership provides plateau protection

The “Connecting the Cumberlands” conservation initiative reached completion as the State of Tennessee and The Nature Conservancy acquired timber rights or easements on acreage connecting Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area and Sundquist Wildlife Management Area with Frozen Head State Park. The effort brings 127,854 acres under protection. In combination with the 66,000 acres already in public ownership, almost 200,000 contiguous acres of the plateau are now under sustainable management. Two forestry companies, Lyme Timber and Conservation Forestry, contributed a total of $40 million to the project. In return, they will be allowed to harvest timber from portions of the land using low-impact techniques and sustainable management principles. The Nature Conservancy contributed $13 million, and the state spent $82 million.