Headwaters WMA at Short Mountain
TennGreen and partners stepped up to conserve a significant 993-acre tract, seized by the U.S. Marshal’s Office during a federal drug investigation in 2006, in order to protect wildlife habitat, water quality, and opportunities for outdoor recreation.
Headwaters Wildlife Management Area is a 993-acre tract of forest and pastureland that encompasses the headwater boundaries of three watersheds—the Caney Fork River, the Collins River, and the East Fork of the Stones River. In 2012, TennGreen Land Conservancy worked with members of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Attorney General, and multiple law enforcement agencies to acquire this property for ownership and management by the State.
Its initial owners were convicted of distribution of marijuana, which put the land in the queue for government auction until TennGreen and its partners stepped in to conserve the area. Headwaters WMA is the largest state-owned property to be received via transference from the federal to the state government, and the only such transfer to occur in Tennessee. Today, outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and hunting are available to the public on this land. Unique habitats include limestone caves, ephemeral wetlands and several rare plants and animals.