Wolfe Creek Preserve ~ 212 acres, Alleghany County
Saddle Mountain Environmental Partners, LLC. Bargain Sale of Land.
A regionally significant natural heritage site, Wolfe Creek Preserve is located on the southern slopes of Saddle Mountain along the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The preserve is a blaze of color as flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) bloom amidst huge hemlocks in the spring. This site provides critical habitat for migratory songbirds, wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silverstris), black bear (Ursus americanus), and the NC threatened Wehrle’s salamander (Plethodon wehrlei). Hiking down the property’s steep slopes, one will enjoy the sights and sounds of a tributary of the Mitchell River meandering its way through the terrain. If you are patient you may even catch a glimpse of a native southern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) as it darts among the pools and riffles of the stream.
The acquisition of Wolfe
Creek Preserve at a bargain sale in 1999 was PLC’s first completed project in
the Mitchell River Watershed. Protection of this site not only ensures that the
forest standing guard over the tributary will continue to provide important
water quality protection to the Mitchell River, an Outstanding Resource Water,
but will also continue to provide wildlife habitat for declining species and
scenic views from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Project funding provided by landowner and NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.