SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
SAHC works cooperatively with landowners in our region to protect significant lands for future generations. We work creatively to help landowners achieve their conservation and financial goals, while protecting natural resources important to the community.
Land Protection
Permanently protecting natural areas in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee through conservation easements and fee simple purchases.
Farmland Access & Farmland Preservation
In 2005, we established the Farmland Program to preserve working agricultural lands important to the natural and cultural heritage of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. We build relationships with interested landowners, working with them to structure conservation easement transactions that protect their land and solve their financial challenges. SAHC is striving to build a network of productive farms in western North Carolina and east Tennessee that are available for farmers to grow food and earn a living for their families, and that will be protected forever from loss by conversion to real estate development. Through this work, we aim to make farmland more accessible to beginning farmers, for whom lack of access to farmland is a primary barrier to farming.
Stewardship
Protecting land through acquisition or conservation easement is only the first step. Stewardship is the permanent commitment to uphold and manage conservation lands. We also act as a leader among partners that restore and manage the fragile, globally significant ecosystems of the Highlands of Roan. For land we directly own, we identify each property’s conservation values and strive to best protect those values in accordance with a management plan for each property. Each year, we monitor the properties that SAHC owns in fee simple, as well as our conservation easements.
Where we work
Awards
Outstanding Organization 1993
SAMAB
Certificate of Appreciation 1990
US Department of Agriculture
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To build a connected network of intact habitat for plants and animals in the Southern Appalachians to enable them to thrive and respond to climate change.
To protect sources of clean water for healthy ecosystems and people.
To ensure sufficient places for people to enjoy outdoor recreation for their health and wellbeing.
To preserve the scenic beauty for the benefit of present and future generations.
To support sustainable economic development through local food production and a network of protected mountain farms.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We proactively protect the highest priority tract identified through conservation planning.
We emphasize helping government agency partners acquire their highest priority tracts.
We emphasize protecting tracts that enhance landscape resiliency to climate change.
We emphasize protecting prime soils and working farms.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We continue to grow our financial and organization strength and stability in order to achieve excellence in our program goals.
We have increased our funding from diverse sources, including contributions from individuals, corporations, and grants from foundations and government agencies.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We envision a green corridor of protected mountains and valleys from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Highlands of Roan, providing a connected network of intact habitat for plants and animals to enable them to thrive and respond to climate change; sources of clean water for healthy ecosystems and people; sufficient places for people to enjoy outdoor recreation for their health and wellbeing; scenic beauty for the benefit of present and future generations; and opportunities for sustainable economic development.
While we have made much progress over the past 40 years, protecting more than 68,000 acres, we still have more work to be done.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
Board of directorsas of 04/29/2019
Jay Leutze
no affiliation
Term: 2016 - 2019
Greg Gregory
Patty Cunningham Woolf
David Erwin
Jim Houser
Anne Kilgore
Popsie Lynch
Rick Manske
John Mason
Laura McCue
Robbie McLucas
Matt Moses
Jeff Needham
Cynthia Poortenga
Stu Ryman
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes