The Land Trust for Tennessee, in conjunction with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, is happy to announce that David and Verlinda Waters have completed this week the conservation of their 152 acres of farmland on the Tennessee River through a permanent conservation agreement. The property was one of only two farms in Tennessee to qualify in 2009 for the USDA’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, which was created through the Farm Bill to preserve the highest priority working farmland in the nation.

Known as River Ridge Farm, the land has been in Mr. Waters’ family since the 1960’s and contains over 2,000 feet of frontage on the Tennessee River.  The farm is adjacent to Washington Ferry and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Also known as the Hastings-Locke Ferry, The Washington Ferry was one of the longest actively running ferries in Tennessee until the Highway 30 bridge was built in 1994.  In addition to maintaining the historic context of this ferry site, which was of great importance during the Civil War, the conservation agreement will also preserve the scenic character as residents and visitors cross the bridge between Rhea and Meigs Counties.  Within just a few miles of many sites related to the Chickamauga Wildlife Management Area and the Yuchi Wildlife Refuge, the wooded portions of the farm also support extended habitat for area wildlife.

 A well-known face among those in East Tennessee seeking locally-grown and organic meat and eggs over the past several years, Dave Waters primarily raises grass-fed beef on River Ridge Farm.  He sells to loyal customers at the Knoxville Market on Saturdays and to the Main Street Farmer’s Market in Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoons.  Many of Dave’s customers and friends of the farm made personal donations, helping raise the matching funds that are required by the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.  The Land Trust for Tennessee also received significant contributions from the Lyndhurst Foundation, Benwood Foundation, and the Tennessee Tobacco Board, with additional funds received from the Cracker Barrel Foundation and Slow Food Chattanooga.

 Voluntary conservation agreements are specifically tailored to meet important conservation purposes and the individual needs of the landowner. Over 160 of the agreements completed by The Land Trust to date were donated by the landowner.  The Land Trust has the authority and obligation to enforce the terms of the easement "in perpetuity." The landowner still owns the property and can use it, sell it, or leave it to heirs, but the restrictions of the easement stay with the land forever.  In extremely rare cases such as River Ridge Farm, with resources of such high priority that the farm meets the stringent criteria of the competitive Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, the USDA is also a party to the agreement and contributes 50% of the cost of the Program. The other 50% is provided by local matching funds and a donation of value from the landowner.

 “The conservation of River Ridge Farm is a shining example of a community rallying around a working farm of statewide significance, and bringing the rarely available Farm and Ranchland Protection Program to a small county in Tennessee,” said Jeanie Nelson, President and Executive Director of The Land Trust for Tennessee. “We are grateful to have the support of so many who care about continuing our state’s agricultural and historical legacies, and landowners such as the Waters who personify the mission of The Land Trust for Tennessee as stewards of Tennessee’s special landscapes.”

The conservation agreement marks the second property conserved in Meigs County by The Land Trust for Tennessee, and brings the total land protected in the Trust’s ten-county Southeast Region office to 5,935 acres in four years.  As the greater Chattanooga area continues to attract new industries and jobs, more and more residents like Dave and Verlinda see the need for balance.

 “I spent my last years in the military working in Washington D.C., and saw how fast land can get chewed up and how sprawl can just create all kinds of problems – not just traffic, but health problems related to eating poorly and not being connected to the land God gave us to take care of,” Dave remarked.  “I hope in the Chattanooga area that we don’t create those kinds of problems for our children and grandchildren in the years to come.  Jobs are important, but there are some things you can never replace.”