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Bledsoe County and Rhea County

Soak Creek Farm

PROJECT PARTNERS George Lindemann, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Tennessee Division of Forestry, Austin Peay State University, Panther Creek Forestry, and the Southeastern Grasslands Institute

In 2020, philanthropist George Lindemann donated approximately 2,000 acres of land on the Cumberland Plateau, known as “Soak Creek Farm,” to TennGreen Land Conservancy. The property is located in Rhea and Bledsoe Counties and abuts the Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park (the “Cumberland Trail”)—Tennessee’s first linear park. This remarkable land features a mosaic of forests and farmland and more than six miles of streams—including Dunlap Creek, Evans Branch, and Shingle Mill Branch—that flow to the Piney Creek watershed. This watershed includes significant recreational areas, such as Soak Creek, which was designated a State Scenic River in 2017, the first such designation since 2001.

Conservation of land along creeks on Soak Creek Farm is vital to protect water quality and habitat for fish, wildlife, and plant species.

In 2021, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) awarded TennGreen and partners a grant to conduct restoration activities on Soak Creek Farm and enhance its natural ecosystems. Proactive restoration projects have included prescribed burns, hemlock treatments, shortleaf pine plantings, and research partnerships. This restoration work is essential to reestablish a landscape that was once extensive on the Cumberland Plateau.

To reinvigorate the landscape, Panther Creek Forestry and the Tennessee Division of Forestry oversaw two prescribed burns at Soak Creek Farm in 2021. Additionally, that same year, Panther Creek Forestry planted 55,000 shortleaf pines within the burned areas at a density to allow for scattered growth mimicking a savanna habitat. Panther Creek Forestry oversaw the treatment of more than 2,000 hemlocks for hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) in 2021.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, bobcats, coyotes, long-tailed weasels, and a black bear were visually recorded on the property. Bats were also identified by their sounds, including the federally endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), and tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), and track surveys have identified more animals at Soak Creek Farm, including a spotted skunk—a species considered vulnerable in Tennessee.

The region continues to be an area of focus for TennGreen due to its significant conservation resources, such as its large forested tracts, rich biodiversity, and ample recreational opportunities that the Cumberland Trail provides.

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