Blue Ridge Conservancy

05/29/2026

We 💙 Mast General Store and Land Trust Day!

05/28/2026

Access Fund, a national advocacy organization dedicated to creating and protecting access to rock climbing areas, honored Blue Ridge Conservancy with the 2025 Land Conservation Award in March, and recently announced the Conservancy is a recipient of a 2026 Climbing Conservation Grant. Both awards are related to BRC’s decades-long efforts to purchase and protect the Howard K**b boulders in Boone, North Carolina. The area, now officially named The K**b Boulders and Nature Preserve, was purchased by BRC in December of 2025 and will be open to the public in the near future.

"The closure of Howard K**b in 1993 was one of the earliest major climbing access issues taken on by the Access Fund," says Daniel Dunn, Access Fund's Eastern Regional Director. "While those initial efforts weren't successful, they helped spark a region-defining movement. Over the following 32 years of effort, climbing advocates created the playbook that has become a staple of Access Fund's land protection model, all with the hope of one day regaining access to this historic boulderfield. That day has finally come, and this win is a testament to the power of organized climbers, locally and nationally."

Full story here: https://blueridgeconservancy.org/recent-news/the-access-fund-honors-blue-ridge-conservancys-efforts-at-howard-knob

05/27/2026

05/22/2026

It's a wonderfully rainy day at Howard K**b. 🌧
We hope everyone is enjoying this much-needed hydration!

05/20/2026

We love learning new things here at BRC! Land Protection and Stewardship Fellow Abbey spent last weekend participating in North Carolina Wildlife Federation and High Country Wild's "Wildlife Habitat Steward Training" program to become a certified wildlife habitat steward.

At the event, experts spoke to the future habitat stewards about creating certified wildlife habitats, the value and benefits of native plants, native NC wildlife and the significant elements that define wildlife habitats.

There were hands-on activities as well, including planting native species at North Street Park to create a pollinator garden.

05/18/2026

Last week BRC Executive Director David Ray headed to Raleigh for a whirlwind of conferences, meetings, and events. He attended the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services-led Farmland Preservation Advocacy Day, and meetings held by Land for Tomorrow, Great Trails NC, and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.

05/17/2026

Thanks to Anna Bigler for inviting us to a Frog Watch information session. This monitoring program teaches community members how to contribute to citizen science efforts to identify and monitor local frog populations and habits. Interested in participating? Check out the page for more info. 🐸

05/11/2026

The first BRC outing of the year was a fascinating educational tour of easement landowner Scott McNeely's Luisa Farms property in Wilkes County. Mr. McNeely has partnered with Blue Ridge Conservancy to protect much of his land under two conservation easements over the years.
On the tour he shared his impressive management of the property including habitat enhancement for white-tailed deer and eastern wild turkeys, increasing year-round food availability, and balancing agricultural production with wildlife habitat by converting less productive farmland into permanent native vegetation, which benefits early successional wildlife and pollinators. Over a few hours, we made several stops to explore the property (and see baby owls!) and discuss the comprehensive management practices in detail.
Big thanks to Mr. McNeely for sharing his expertise with us!

05/08/2026

We couldn’t let slip by without a shout-out to some of the coolest critters we have in the High Country.

Please enjoy 30 seconds of this (extremely adorable) juvenile yellow spotted salamander that was rescued from a drying vernal pond (along with a few hundred of its brethren) at BRC’s Conservation Campus.

This little one (dubbed Bernie as we’re not sure if it’s a Bernard or a Bernadette) is approximately two inches long and two months old. Bernie is spending lots of time chowing down on copepods, daphnia, and other delicacies found in only the finest pond water. On Tuesday front legs appeared! They grow up so fast.

The beautiful feathery crown behind Bernie’s head is three sets of external gills, which is how salamander larvae breathe underwater. During metamorphosis the gills will be absorbed, back legs will appear, and Bernie will become a terrestrial beastie. Stay tuned for further Bernie updates, and Happy Amphibian Week!

*Today is Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, so go back and read all that in his voice.

05/07/2026

Hop on over to Brookshire Park on May 16 at 5:00pm and learn all about citizen science and frogs!
This is a great event for the whole family 🐸