Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina's 2016 Blue Ridge Foothills Protection Challenge is underway and this year the goal has been raised from $60,000 to $75,000.
Gifts to Foothills Conservancy between now and August 31 will be matched dollar-for dollar. Two generous donors--the von Drehle Corporation of Hickory and an anonymous individual--have pledged to match up to $37,500 during the challenge to help donations go even further.
So far the 2016 challenge has raised $22,873, and one month remains to raise the remaining $14,627 in order to achieve the full match of $37,500 and reach the total goal of $75,000.
Gifts--no matter the size--made during this matching challenge, help Foothills Conservancy advance current projects that protect the headwaters of our region's important waterways like the Broad, Catawba and Yadkin rivers; scenic Blue Ridge Parkway vistas; and private farm and forest lands.
"We are so incredibly grateful for the generosity of our donors. Their investment in land and water conservation ensures that future generations can experience this unique region," said Susie Hamrick Jones, the conservancy's executive director.
"In the past year, donors helped us protect some amazing places in our region. This included the 2,207-acre Simms Hill Tract in the South Mountains, of which 757 acres were added to South Mountains State Park, and the remaining 1,450 acres were acquired by Foothills Conservancy to establish our new South Mountains Headwaters Preserve; two critical Crescent Communities tracts that are now part of Lake James State Park; and the historic Whippoorwill Dairy Farm along Paddy's Creek, which will be donated to Lake James State Park later this year."
People who love and want to protect the Blue Ridge Mountains and their foothills are invited to make a tax-deductible gift to this summer's Blue Ridge Foothills Protection Challenge to help add to the more than 50,000 acres of land and thousands of miles of streams, rivers and lakeshores that Foothills Conservancy has permanently protected in the region since 1995.
Gifts may be safely submitted by credit card at www.foothillsconservancy.org; by check payable to Foothills Conservancy and mailed to PO Box 3023, Morganton, NC 28680; or by calling 828-437-9930.
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is a nationally accredited, nonprofit, regional land trust based in Morganton. The conservancy works cooperatively with landowners and public/private conservation partners to preserve and protect significant natural areas and open spaces. Focus areas include watersheds, forests and farmland across the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills in eight counties: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Lincoln, McDowell, and Rutherford. Since 1995, Foothills Conservancy has protected more than 50,000 acres, including lands added to South Mountains, Lake James and Chimney Rock state parks; Wilson Creek, South Mountains and the Johns River state game lands; Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Information about Foothills Conservancy, including ways to support its work, can be found online at www.foothillsconservancy.org or by calling 828-437-9930.
Submitted by Mary Ellen Dendy

Pictured: Thanks to the support of its donors, Foothills Conservancy has protected many important natural and scenic areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills, including the Lodge Tract at Lake James. This long-sought 125-acre tract is now permanently protected as part of Lake James State Park.
Photo by Crescent Communities