Some 6,000 Acres Near Sparta Donated As Reserve

Bridgestone will donate some six thousand acres of land in White County to the Nature Conservancy for use as a nature reserve.

The Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain is located north of Virgin Falls State Natural Area east of Sparta. The name originates from the highest peak along US 70.

“The Cumberland Plateau is one of those iconic regions in the state that we’ve identified as critically important for conservation,” Nature Conservancy State Director Terry Cook said during Wednesday’s announcement in Nashville.

The gift stands as the largest ever made to the Nature Conservancy. White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson and Sparta-White County Chamber Director Marvin Bullock among those who attended the Wednesday announcement in Nashville.

Firestone purchased the land just outside Sparta in the 1970s to use as an investment property and as an employee retreat. Bridgestone officials decided to donate the land, in part, to offset the carbon footprint from its new 30-story office tower in Nashville.

“We think it’s important for us to walk the walk,” Bridgestone Chief Administrative Officer Chris Karbowiak said.

The company estimates some 90-thousand tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the new building over the next several decades. The Nature Conservancy may sell other carbon credits to other companies or groups. It may also sell the timber.

Also as part of the donation, the land may not be sub-divided, no new roads may be built, no buildings erected or fluid injected into the ground.

In addition to keeping the land natural, the reserve hopes to restore the pine-oak woodlands and savannahs that have declined in the past 30 years. The shortleaf pine tree will also be preserved as will many native species.

Bridgestone gave an adjacent 4,000-acre tract to the state of Tennessee in September, 1998. Two years later, a 6,000-acre tract in Van Buren and White Counties were donated.