| The
4500-acre Needmore Tract was purchased by the State of North Carolina in
January of 2004 as a nature perserve. The Tract includes 26 miles of Little Tennessee River
frontage, 37 miles of tributary streams to the river and serves as the
keystone to the forested corridor connecting the Nantahala and Cowee
Mountain Ranges. The Little Tennessee River through the Needmore Tract is
home to half the native, freshwater fish species in North Carolina and the
greatest diversity of freshwater mussels in the State.
The Needmore Tract is
managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, which protects water
quality and wildlife habitat while maintaining traditional uses of the land.
The twenty-five miles of free-flowing Little Tennessee River downstream of
the town of Franklin is considered the “Noah’s Ark” of Blue Ridge rivers due
to its rich biological diversity. The river corridor also encompasses the
most intact archeological landscape remaining of the 18th century Cherokee.
With the purchase of the Needmore Tract over half of this reach of river was
preserved for present and future generations.
For More Information
Call: (828)
524-2711
Or Write:The Land Trust
for theLittle Tennessee
88 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1148
Franklin, NC 28744-1148
To view The Needmore
Tract
website click here
http://www.ltlt.org/needmore.html
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