Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SJR0226 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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4	4	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 226
5	5	By McNally
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7	7
8	8	SJR0226
9	9	005110
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to honor and commend Foothills Land
13	13	Conservancy on the occasion of its fortieth
14	14	anniversary.
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16	16	WHEREAS, it is fitting that we specially recognize those estimable organizations that are
17	17	dedicated to improving the quality of life of the people of Tennessee; and
18	18	WHEREAS, one such organization is Foothills Land Conservancy, a regional land trust
19	19	dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the lands and environment of the Southern
20	20	Appalachian region, while also promoting the character of the land for the benefit of the general
21	21	public; and
22	22	WHEREAS, celebrating its fortieth year of service as a regional land trust in 2025,
23	23	Foothills Land Conservancy (FLC), through the tremendous investment and leadership of
24	24	William "Bill"’ Clabough and the efforts of FLC's board of directors and staff, has assisted in the
25	25	land preservation of more than 200,000 acres, including 500 conservation projects in
26	26	Tennessee and the six surrounding states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina,
27	27	South Carolina, and Virginia; and
28	28	WHEREAS, FLC was chartered in 1985 and granted tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3)
29	29	corporation; soon afterward, in 1987, former Governor Lamar Alexander joined and publicly
30	30	endorsed the organization; and
31	31	WHEREAS, FLC assists landowners desiring to permanently preserve their property in
32	32	its natural state, or as a working farm, primarily through the utilization of a legally binding
33	33	conservation easement agreement; and
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38	38	WHEREAS, within the State of Tennessee, FLC's land conservation projects now span
39	39	fifty-two counties that include over 250 landowner partnerships and in excess of 100,000 acres
40	40	preserved; and
41	41	WHEREAS, FLC assisted in the permanent conservation of Blount County's beloved
42	42	Camp Montvale, seven Tennessee Century Farms, Jarvis Park in Blount County, an additional
43	43	1,000 acres of land transferred to the Mount Roosevelt State Wildlife Management Area in
44	44	Roane County, and 649 acres of land in Polk County, which was transferred to the Tennessee
45	45	Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA); and
46	46	WHEREAS, the conservancy's board and staff worked to create a permanent foundation
47	47	for planned gifts that includes land acquisition and stewardship programs, the Land
48	48	Preservation Fund, and other conservation-related projects; and
49	49	WHEREAS, FLC worked with the TWRA and Ducks Unlimited to purchase the Kyker
50	50	Bottoms Wildlife Refuge, a 524-acre wetland in Blount County, in 1998; managed by TWRA and
51	51	open to the public, the refuge includes fields, forests, wetlands, and thickets and is managed
52	52	primarily for waterfowl, shorebirds, and diverse nongame, especially songbirds; and
53	53	WHEREAS, in 2001, FLC, in collaboration with the TWRA and the Conservation Fund,
54	54	assisted in the conservation of 2,500 acres at the Yuchi Wildlife Management Area at Smith
55	55	Bend on Chickamauga Lake; located on the Chickamauga Reservoir near Chattanooga, Yuchi
56	56	is owned and managed by the TWRA and includes wetlands, uplands, and riparian habitat, one
57	57	of a string of nearby refuges and natural areas providing feeding/resting habitat for migrating
58	58	waterfowl and sandhill cranes; and
59	59	WHEREAS, FLC's founding member, Gail Harris, placed a conservation easement
60	60	agreement on her 300-acre working farm with FLC in 2009; the land, purchased by the
61	61	grandfather of Gail Harris's late husband, Jim Harris, dates back to the late 1800s and originally
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66	66	covered 1,000 acres. The property now includes woodlands, a spring fed pond, and a former
67	67	dairy barn; and
68	68	WHEREAS, in 2016, Ms. Harris made the decision to transfer the property to the
69	69	conservancy, which is now the site of FLC's headquarters, while roughly two-thirds of the Harris
70	70	Farm continues to be leased for the production of corn, hay, soy beans, and cattle; and
71	71	WHEREAS, FLC amicably acquired the Southeast Regional Land Conservancy, which
72	72	was based in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2023; this collaboration between two regional land
73	73	trusts provided FLC with 140 additional conservation partnerships totaling more than 35,000
74	74	preserved acres; and
75	75	WHEREAS, the leadership, board, and staff of FLC work diligently to protect, preserve,
76	76	and enhance the lands and environment of the Southern Appalachian region, and they are most
77	77	worthy of our approbation; now, therefore,
78	78	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
79	79	GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
80	80	REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we honor and commend Foothills Land
81	81	Conservancy on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary and extend our best wishes for much
82	82	continued success.
83	83	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
84	84	for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
85	85	the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
86	86	without House or Senate designation.
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