Last August, Xpress reported on the opportunities and difficulties related to preserving farmland in Western North Carolina.
Profiled in the story was farmer Bill Duckett, who, with his wife Mabel, owns 550 acres within the Sandy Mush community in the northwest portion of Buncombe County.
Last week, the Asheville-based nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy announced what it calls an “historic agreement” with the Ducketts to preserve 138 acres of their land. In a contract signed Friday, the couple sold development rights to that property, including a portion of ridgeline along the Newfound Mountains, visible from downtown Asheville.
The transaction was made possible through funds from Buncombe County, the Buncombe Land Conservation Advisory Board and private citizens, including Brad and Shelli Stanback, Bob Detjen, John Cram and Lynn Hill, according to SAHC’s Emily Nuchols.
The Duckett tract joins more than 5,000 acres protected through the local work of SAHC.
— Kent Priestley, staff writer
