Press release from Buncombe County Soil & Water:
Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District’s (BCSWCD) Farmland Preservation Program is excited to announce the protection of 4 farms totaling in 156.2 acres in the County’s prime farming regions this summer.
Barnardsville, Fairview, and Weaverville have all traditionally been farming communities with prime soils for agriculture, as well as statewide and locally important soils. Protecting these farms is not only important in retaining their agricultural value, but also in fulfilling family dreams of keeping farms intact and protecting their beauty so that future generations may be able to appreciate them in the same way that we do now.
The natural resources protected by a conservation easement include but are not limited to: prime soils to support healthy agricultural uses, various forest types, open space, scenic viewsheds, diverse plant and animal habitats, high-quality waterways, riparian buffers, and vegetation to protect water quality and aquatic species, fertile pastureland, and wildlife habitat.
A sincere thank you to Diane and Robert Rosseter, Art and Pam McCurry, David and Dorothy Sneddon, and Robert Harvey and Denis O’Doherty for being passionate land stewards and conservationists. You have truly made a lasting difference in Buncombe County by preserving your family farm.
On July 8, BCSWCD closed a conservation easement with Diane Rosseter, helping her permanently protect her family’s 17.37- acre Ed Maney Family Farm in Barnardsville, NC. This beautiful farm in the heart of barnardsville has been in Diane’s family well over a century and she has protected it now for many more generations to come.
On July 18, BCSWCD closed a conservation easement with Art and Pam McCurry, protecting a 51.17-acre part of their family farm in Weaverville, NC. This property is grazed with beef cattle and cut for hay, with beautiful rolling hills and forest. By protecting their family farm, Art and Pam are honoring Art’s father’s wish to permanently protect the land and keep it a farming community.
On July 18, BCSWCD closed a conservation easement on David and Dorothy Sneddon’s 55.96-acre DaDor Farm in Fairview, NC. David and Dorothy have a beautiful horse farm along Brush Creek with high prime agricultural soils in the heart of fairview. By protecting this farm, they are assured that their property will stay beautiful and undeveloped in perpetuity.
On Aug. 12, BCSWCD closed a easement with Robert Harvey and Denis O’Doherty’s on their 31.7 acre Cnoc Mor Property in Barnardsville, NC. Mostly forested, this beautiful mountain property has diverse forest species, protected hemlock population, old growth trees, and significant water resources. Harvey and O’Doherty hope to inspire others in the Barnardsville community to follow their footprints and protect this beautiful region.
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