Patagonia Awards $25,000 to Tennessee Wild Campaign
Wild South and the Tennessee Wild Campaign are very proud to partner with Patagonia to push in this legislative session, with Sen. Alexander leading the way, to deliver Wilderness in Tennessee for the first time in over 27 years. Patagonia has awarded the Tennessee Wild Campaign a $25,000 grant to protect headwaters, recreation, beauty and intrinsic values of wild places in the Cherokee National Forest, TN!
Passing the Tennessee Wilderness Act will expand high-level legislative protections for 19,558 acres of the Cherokee National Forest, which the Forest Service recommended for wilderness protection in their 2004 management plan. This includes permanent protection for 12,200 acres in the southern zone and includes the following acreage in the Tennessee River watershed:
- Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness (Monroe County) 1836 acres
- Big Frog Wilderness (Polk County) 348 acres
- Little Frog Wilderness (Polk County) 978 acres
- Upper Bald River Wilderness (Monroe County) 9038 acres
It also includes the following areas in the northern zone:
- Big Laurel Branch Wilderness (Carter & Johnson Counties) 4446 acres
- Sampson Mountain Wilderness (Unicoi & Washington Counties) 2922 acres