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Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy recently purchased 92 acres atop Round Mountain in Mitchell County, just south of Carver’s Gap.

The rounded, forested crest of this aptly named mountain rises above the approach to Carver’s Gap, just off N.C. 261. Stretching above the Roan Valley at 4,900 feet elevation, Round Mountain looms conspicuously in the viewshed from the scenic drive and from the Appalachian Trail between Round Bald and Jane Bald. SAHC purchased two adjoining tracts which together include the peak and surrounding slopes of Round Mountain.

“Round Mountain is only about 1.5 miles from Round Bald, Jane Bald and Grassy Ridge Bald and features prominently in the viewshed from them,” said Joe DeLoach, former SAHC trustee and avid Appalachian Trail volunteer with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club. “Development of it could have resulted in a permanent scar on the Appalachian Trail experience in one of its finest locations. It was a thrill to see that SAHC purchased this important, high-elevation mountain.”

The tract is also important for wildlife habitat and water resources. It is located within the Audubon Society’s Roan Mountain Important Bird Area and the Grandfather Unaka Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area. A small section of a tributary to Fall Creek flows through the northeast corner of the property, and a tributary to Little Rock Creek originates near the southern property boundary. Both Fall Creek and Little Rock Creek have been designated as High Quality Waters and trout waters by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality – Division of Water Resources.

“SAHC’s purchase of the property will contribute to a protected corridor between SAHC’s Little Rock Creek Preserve and the large network of conserved land on the Roan Massif, including SAHC’s Haw Orchard Ridge Preserve,” said SAHC Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese. “It is not often that we have the opportunity to protect an entire high-elevation mountain, including the summit and its surrounding slopes. We know that species move to high elevations to escape the impacts of a changing climate. The Round Mountain purchase will forever protect this important plant and animal refuge.”

SAHC plans to own and manage the land as a wildlife preserve.