Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center has begun the process of permanently preserving its 300+ acres of idyllic green space in the heart of Chattanooga. Reflection Riding will partner with the American Battlefield Trust to further protect their scenic land forever through a historic conservation easement.
The trust is raising funds to cover the Reflection Riding easement as well as an easement on two acres at the Franklin, Tn., battlefield.
Officials said, "With partners like Reflection Riding, the Trust has worked to protect more than 53,000 acres across 24 states. This work will add a tract of “The Battle Above the Clouds” to conserved, historic landscapes across the greater Chattanooga region.
Reflection Riding officials said, "This agreement will amplify and solidify Reflection Riding’s long-range vision to restore the connection between people and nature. Thanks to this partnership, Reflection Riding will continue to provide access to the outdoors for this generation and those to come. As stewards of the land and natural resources, Reflection Riding and the Trust, together, will add permanent legal protection that prevents the land from ever being developed."
“We’re seizing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to permanently conserve this property that our community has loved for more than half a century," said Reflection Riding President and CEO Mark McKnight. "While our mission remains the same, this agreement will ensure that our children and grandchildren, and frankly those who come after them, will experience the same beautiful historic landscape originally preserved by the Chambliss, Humphreys, and many other families over the years. While individual buildings may come and go, this historic landscape and the botanical heritage we’ve inherited will stay unchanged for future generations once this extra layer of legal protection goes into place.
"As the Chattanooga region grows, we’re losing opportunities to conserve land - especially open fields and grasslands - at an alarming rate. Our leadership felt that we must act now to permanently protect this place we all love so much.”
This agreement will also aid Reflection Riding’s progress in its master planning process, including improved accessibility, enhanced trails and recreation areas, and better connections to Lookout Creek and the adjacent National Park lands, he said.
“Over the last few years, Reflection Riding has chosen a transformative and creative path forward,” said Board Chair Stefanie Crowe. “I am proud of our leadership, our staff, our volunteers, and our members for helping us build a sustainable, long-term plan for taking our conservation work into the future. And I can’t wait to see what else is in store for this great place.”
“My kids grew up coming to Reflection Riding - from attending summer camp, to learning to hike longer distances, to figuring out how to paddle on the creek,” said Jim Catanzaro, a former board chair and long-time volunteer. “I can’t imagine my hometown without this place. With our partners at the American Battlefield Trust and generous support from our Chattanooga community, this landscape and the connections to nature it holds will be protected forever. There’s just not much more important than that.”
American Battlefield Trust officials said, "This parcel provided the only possible approach on Lookout Mountain that allowed Union General Joseph Hooker to execute his unexpected and wildly successful maneuver against Confederate General Braxton Bragg's forces on Lookout Mountain. It is one of the single largest tracts of land that can still be saved on the Chattanooga Battlefield.
"This effort marks one of the biggest land transactions at this battlefield since Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was dedicated as America's first national military park in 1895. We will be making preservation history.
"Thanks to a generous landowner donation and anticipated federal and state grants, we will be able to protect this land with a conservation easement worth $3.8 million for just $50,000."