Unahwi Ridge developers John Beckman, left, and his wife, Jane Finneran, were accompanied by Land Trust for the Little Tennessee representatives (from left) Sharon Taylor and Paul Carlson, as well as Al Bouchard of the Jackson County Department on Aging, for a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 28 on Bettys Creek. The event highlighted the efforts of the LTLT to establish a conservation easement on 50 of Beckman's 600 acres. The easement, Carlson said, "was a sincere and hard financial decision" on Beckman's part, but one that "will ensure that future owners adhere to the current owner's vision." That vision, Beckman said, includes several conservation tracts - a agricultural area where the family farm has been tilled since the 1920s; a wildlife corridor; and a forest area. The remainder of the residential development has been designed in such as way as to protect the natural beauty, biodiversity and ecosystems presently on the property, said Beckman, who also has plans to offer to the public an environmental learning center on the property. - Herald photo by Lisa Majors-Duff |