Thirty years ago, the Asheville City Council unanimously voted to convey a conservation easement on nearly 18,000 acres of the Asheville Watershed to CTNC, ensuring the permanent protection of a vital source of drinking water for Asheville and much of Buncombe County.

Today, this remarkable landscape continues to protect our water while preserving the natural beauty of the North Fork and Bee Tree basins. Stretching along 15 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, between Mount Mitchell and Craggy Gardens, these protected lands offer breathtaking mountain panoramas and an enduring legacy of conservation.