NASHVILLE, TN (April 4, 2024) — On Tuesday, TennGreen Land Conservancy board and staff welcomed honorable Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to their historic office building on Music Row in downtown Nashville.
The private gathering was held in hopes of furthering state conservation efforts amid rapid growth, development, and pressing legislation.
“Great to meet with TennGreen to commend their work and share Tennessee’s conservation strategy for a bright future,” Gov. Lee stated Wednesday.
“We remain committed to preserving our state’s natural beauty and rich resources so that Tennesseans can enjoy the great outdoors for generations to come,” Gov. Lee added.
GOV. BILL LEE, TENNGREEN FURTHER TENNESSEE CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Topics of discussion included the Farmland Conservation Bill, the controversial “Wetlands Bill” (HB1054/SB0631), and the continuing expansion of and additions to Tennessee’s state parks, which TennGreen has played a pivotal role in.
“It was such an honor to host Governor Bill Lee at TennGreen this morning,” TennGreen’s Executive Director, Alice Hudson Pell, followed. “I truly feel that Governor Lee sincerely believes in the long-term protection of our lands and waters. We had a great opportunity to learn from him his conservation values and talk to him directly about the Wetlands Bill as well as the Farmland Conservation Bill.”
As Hudson Pell also notes, “Tennessee has already lost one million acres of farmland and are projected to lose at least double this amount by 2040, which is a low estimate based on 2016 numbers by the American Farmland Trust.”
In kind, Governor Bill Lee, TennGreen, and our partners in conservation feel great urgency to protect Tennessee’s land, water, air, and quality of life before it is too late. Lee, Hudson Pell, and TennGreen’s President-Elect, Bob Sarratt, each spoke to this urgency Tuesday morning.
‘This was a terrific showing that bodes well for the future of Tennessee’
Also in attendance was Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show fame. A fellow Nashvillian, Secor is an energetic activist who’s eager to support TennGreen and Tennessee conservation.
“This was a terrific showing that bodes well for the future of Tennessee,” Secor praised to TennGreen’s Director of Communications, Jon D. Bumpus.
Secor and Bumpus, alongside Deputy Director Christie Henderson, Conservation Project Manager Kristen Hanratty, Land Conservation Coordinator Maria Maring, Board Treasurer Marcya A. Carter-Sheats, and board members Laurel Graefe and Melinda Welton also spoke directly with Gov. Lee on the importance of TennGreen’s work and their shared conservation values, alongside highlighting ways our representatives can guide our state to a brighter future.
TennGreen wishes to extend their sincerest thanks to President-Elect and board member Bob Sarratt for orchestrating this gathering and his continued championing of Tennessee conservation, and to Governor Bill Lee and his team for allotting their valuable time to both the organization and conservation at large.
For more information, please contact TennGreen Land Conservancy at info@tenngreen.org or (615) 329-4441.
Cover photo left to right: TennGreen Board President-Elect Bob Sarratt, Executive Director Alice Hudson Pell, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, also photographed by Jon D. Bumpus
Press release by Jon D. Bumpus, Director of Communications, TennGreen Land Conservancy