The Value of Land

“We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”― Aldo Leopold

Land is a resource that has cultural, economic, and aesthetic value.  Here in the Tennessee River Valley, all three of the values have been fought for, exploited, and protected. 

Indigenous people fought for their ancestral lands against invading white settlers.  Early pioneers valued the land for the crops that could be grown and sold; the wood that could be used to build and heat their homes.  Speculators exploited the land for mineral extraction, clear timbering, and commercial development.  Later, industrialization exploited rivers for transport of goods and river access.  Cities ignored sprawling development with little regard for green spaces and pressure on natural resources. 

As early as 1911, the pressures of development led to the Weeks Act, which sought to protect the headwaters of rivers and watersheds in the eastern United States through the purchase of private land by the federal government.   This ACT became one of the most importance conservation efforts in the 20^th Century to mitigate the damage done by misuse of land. In a twenty year period beginning in 1917, the states in the Tennessee River Valley benefited from the development of significant national forests such as Nantahala, Pisgah, and Unaka (NC), William Bankhead (AL), Chattahoochee (GA), Cumberland/ Boone (KY), and Cherokee (TN.) Today, these lands protect important habitats and waterways. While sometimes fragmented and smaller then western properties, these public lands serve large populations of people who benefit from the protection of watersheds that supply clean drinking water.

Today, these forests are a blueprint for stewarding public resources for the good of all.  From the work of the CCC reforesting barren lands beginning in 1933 to the modern day TVA’s active role in managing public property have improved lands across the Tennessee River Basin that were so severely damaged, that the Soil Erosion Service Division, Office of the Interior’s Hugh Bennett noted that erosion had changed former arable land to simply clay and subsoil. (Clark, Greening of the South 1984)  The practice of reforestation continually renews the soil which in turn reduces the risk of run-off and increases carbon uptake, with a hopeful outcome for climate change. 

A visit to these national lands today are living demonstrations of the impact of public policy and education to provide open green spaces prized for recreation and ecological and stewardship values.