The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee

06/23/2026

🌱 Cumberland Forest Community Fund applications are now open! In partnership with Clinch‑Powell, we are offering up to $85,000 for nature‑based projects launching in September 2026. Eligible applicants include public, private, and nonprofit groups in Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, and Union counties.
Projects should deliver triple bottom line benefits: stronger local economies, increased community capacity, and healthier natural resources. Grants range from $5,000–$25,000, with no match required.
📅 Apply by June 30, 2026
🔗 Learn more + apply: clinchpowell.net/conservation/

06/22/2026

Nature isn’t just scenery — it’s infrastructure. It protects communities, strengthens local economies, and quietly does the work we all depend on.
The Cumberland Forest Project is a powerful example. By protecting and managing more than 253,000 acres across VA, KY, and TN, this impact‑investment project supports outdoor recreation, boosts local economies, and delivers real returns for people and nature. In Virginia alone, nature‑based industries contribute $13.4 billion in value added, $6.6 billion in wages, and 122,405 jobs to our economy.
And forests don’t just fuel economies — they protect communities. Healthy, restored forests hold more water, reduce flood risk, and help buffer the impacts of extreme weather. When we invest in nature, we’re investing in safer, more resilient places to live.

📸 Byron Jorjorian

06/18/2026

June is Great Outdoors Month — a reminder to go outside and enjoy Tennessee's beautiful landscapes.😀
Overall, the outdoor recreation economy generates $13 billion in value added annually and supports 103,618 jobs and $5.3 billion in wages across the state. Our forests, rivers, trails, and open spaces support local jobs, strengthens rural communities, and keeps people connected to the places they love.

That’s why TNC works across the state to protect and restore lands that people rely on for hiking, paddling, birding, hunting, fishing, and simply breathing a little easier. Connecting with these spaces is the best way to support conservation and be part of a greener economy.
Visit a TNC Preserve near you:
🥾 Taylor Hollow
🥾Schoolyard Springs
🥾Stone Preserve

06/16/2026

TNC was on Capitol Hill this week to speak up for nature. Our Tennessee Government Relations and Conservation staff met with Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Congressman John Rose, and staff from four additional House offices to emphasize the importance of protecting public lands and waters, investing in nature, and passing the next Farm Bill.

These conversations help ensure Tennessee’s lands and waters remain healthy, resilient, and protected for generations to come.

06/15/2026

Nature isn’t just beautiful — it’s one of our smartest economic solutions.😀
In Tennessee, the state is expected to face $3.7 million in annual economic losses from wildfires. As development expands into rural areas, fighting wildland fire becomes more complex, more dangerous, and more expensive. But there’s a proven way to reduce those risks: buffering communities with well‑managed open space and investing in forest restoration.🔥
That’s why TNC’s controlled burning work in Tennessee is so critical. By restoring fire‑adapted forests and reducing hazardous fuels, we’re protecting people, property, and the ecosystems that keep our water clean and our communities resilient.
Conservation solutions are economic solutions. Protecting and restoring nature isn’t just good stewardship — it’s the smartest investment we can make.

📸 Kyle LaFerriere

06/12/2026

Tennessee and Kentucky's 2026 spring fire season burned hot!🔥 Our teams and partners are making meaningful progress for good fire across the region.
🌱 182 acres burned on TNC lands at Chestnut Mountain and Shady Valley.
🌱 A record 30,000 acres burned at Daniel Boone National Forest.
🌱 6,228 acres through assists with the South Zone CNF, North Zone CNF, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
🌱Total: 6,410 acres of good fire on the ground.

Despite the drought that limited burn windows, we are proud of our results. Good fire takes partnership, patience, and the right conditions — and this season shows what’s possible when all three align.

📸 Gabby Lynch

06/11/2026

Black bears are becoming a more common sight in central Tennessee, building a natural concern among community members.
Our Director of Conservation, Mark Thurman, explains why protecting land and building connected habitat corridors is essential to helping bears roam safely and freely across the region, which helps keep them away of urban areas.

For years, TNC has been working across the Appalachians to link wildlife habitats, restore forests, and keep migration pathways open. Listen to the full interview:

We’re surrounded by wildlife that tells us something about our ecosystem if we’ll take just a moment to stop and smell the roses (or, in this case, take a g

06/09/2026

No conservation staff members were harmed in the making of this video😂 It is always fun to be out doing some field work.

06/08/2026

In 2018, a math teacher noticed a growing interest in fire among students and launched a small club the following year.🔥 Today, that club at Bennett High School in Kingsport has become a local prescribed‑burn resource.😀 Community members now call the high school when they need consultation or a fire crew to burn their property. It’s one of the only high‑school‑led burn teams in the entire U.S.

Watch our new video, “Learning to Burn,” which follows these students as they explore the natural world around them — and make a real impact in their community: https://firenetworks.org/manypaths/southern-blue-ridge/

06/04/2026

This May, a simple hike became a walk through history 😀

Legacy Club members Dr. Carl and Mrs. Elaine Zimmerman led TNC staff and supporters along the Stone Door trail, where sweeping views of Savage Gulf meet generations of stories. Longtime hikers and aspiring Tennessee Naturalists, the Zimmermans have spent years exploring this region — but for Carl, the connection runs even deeper. His family traces back to the Gruetli‑Laager Swiss settlement in nearby Grundy County, grounding his love for this landscape in both personal and regional history.

That connection echoes TNC’s own beginnings. Before our Tennessee chapter was officially established in 1978, Savage Gulf was at the heart of our earliest conservation work — more than 4,000 acres that would go on to be protected for people and wildlife alike.

Moments like this remind us that conservation is not only about protecting land. It’s about the people who care for it, the stories rooted in it, and the connections that carry it forward.

📸 TNC Tennessee