About a year ago, Swan Trust was contacted by a realtor selling a 140-acre tract of land encompassing the headwater streams of Star Branch – a major tributary of Big Swan Creek in Lewis County, TN. We acquired the lower portion of Star Branch in 1998, with the vision of the 309-acre tract becoming the first piece of Big Swan Headwaters Preserve.
In the years since then, five additional tracts have enlarged the Preserve to its current 1,358 acres. The land comprises beautiful and biodiverse hardwood forests, headwater streams, waterfalls, calcareous seeps, two hayfields now restored in native grasses and wildflowers, rare plants, and prime habitat for neotropical migratory songbirds and year-round resident birds.
The original Star Branch acquisition was accomplished with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grants Program. We are hopeful that our newest proposal called Star Branch Phase II Acquisition and Wetland Restoration: Big Swan Headwaters Preserve TN will be successful in garnering $75,000 towards the $203,000 purchase price.
The wetland on the property is a large calcareous seep, almost one acre in size. Many species of ferns, sedges, rushes, and wildflowers grow in the seep, surrounded by large, mature hardwood trees. Biodiversity of the seep is threatened by non-native invasive plants; thus, one objective of the grant is to eradicate these plants and protect the wetland for the future.
We are very fortunate in this time of Covid-19, when our normal fundraising events are at a standstill, that a conservation buyer has stepped up to make the 140-acre purchase in our place. Mary Lynn Dobson’s generosity is taking the property off the market, while giving us three years to raise the funds to buy it from her! Mary Lynn is on the board of TennGreen Land Conservancy, our partner land trust that holds the conservation easement on Big Swan Headwaters Preserve. Our gratitude to Mary Lynn and TennGreen is overwhelming! Stay tuned for progress on this land purchase.