Why The Nature Conservancy Selected Southern Cumberlands for Preservation

Complete with waterfalls, steep bluffs, dense forests, and sandstone outcroppings, the Cumberland Plateau is a breathtaking example of the unique ecological value found in the overall Southern Appalachian Mountain chain. Extending over 400 miles from the western edge of the Southern Appalachians, the Cumberland Plateau represents one of the largest, temperate hardwood plateau systems in the world and is home to the highest concentration of endangered species on the continent.

In 2001, with help from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Tennessee Chapter launched a new initiative on the Cumberland Plateau. This initiative focuses on a 2 million-acre site in the Northern Cumberlands that also reaches into southern Kentucky.

The Southern Cumberlands project area is located in northeast Alabama and southern Tennessee. The project area is approximately one million acres and contains some of the largest, unfragmented, privately owned forested tracts in the entire Cumberlands region. More than 80% of the project site is covered with native hardwood forests.

Threats to Southern Cumberlands

This rare compliment of wildlife and wild spaces is under attack. Unsustainable development and human use threaten the beauty and viability of this special place. Vast stretches of forests are diminishing at alarming rates due to urban growth, rural development, unsustainable forestry practices, mining and agriculture. However, the most immediate and dangerous threat to the plateau is the massive divestment of land.

The Plants of Southern Cumberlands

The most diverse collection of woody plant species found in the Blue Ridge Mountains are found in the Cumberland Mountains. The collection includes more than 2,000 species of flora.

The Wildlife of Southern Cumberlands

The Southern Cumberlands contains the highest concentration of caves in the world, and within that, the highest number of cave invertebrate species in the world!

The Nature Conservancy’s Accomplishments and Actions in Southern Cumberlands

The Tennessee and Alabama Chapters of The Nature Conservancy work closely together on conservation strategies in the project area, including land acquisition.

The Conservancy’s largest and most meaningful project to date was the acquisition of the Walls of Jericho. The huge tract of 21,453 acres of rivers, forested uplands and caves spreading across the Alabama and Tennessee state line contains an extraordinarily diverse array of plants and animals.

The actual “Walls of Jericho” is a large, bowl-shaped amphitheater that shoots water out of holes and cracks in the canyon wall during times of high flow. The Alabama portion of the Walls of Jericho is now part of Skyline Wildlife Management Area. In the fall of 2005, the Tennessee portion of the site will be under the management of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency as Bear Hollow Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Along with the Walls of Jericho, the Tennessee Chapter has also purchased a 5,200-acre property called the David Carter tract. The chapter plans to transfer the property into public ownership at a future date.

Tennessee Cumberlands Project Areas
Map © The Nature Conservancy

Learn more about the Cumberland Plateau's history and biological richness.