John and Marsha are passionate about protecting the area's natural beauty.
Ralph Anderson / Styling Buffy Hargett
Cloaked in cedar shakes, the additon to the original log cabin maintains the authentic look through the use of indigenous materials.
Saving natural beauty while getting a big tax break sounds like a pretty good deal. That’s what John and Marsha Warren of Cashiers, North Carolina, plan to do along with their entire family. To make it happen, they’re talking to Gary Wein, executive director of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust.
Founded in 1883, this organization is the oldest land trust in North Carolina. Land trusts work to protect places by accepting donated land and easements, purchasing land to be preserved, and providing conservation education. “The first place we protected was Satulah Mountain,” says Gary. “We acquired it for $500, and it’s now estimated to be worth more than $30 million.” In all, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust now protects 1,400 acres divided among 48 properties.
Basically, landowners grant the land trust a conservation easement on their entire property or a portion of it. Prior to the transaction, the two parties agree on how the property may be developed. For example, the owners might specify they want to build two additional houses. Once the owners and land trust agree and papers are signed, the terms are perpetual. The owners retain title to the property and can sell it or leave to their heirs. They continue to manage the land and can hunt, fish, farm, and even log it. But they give up forever the right to develop it beyond what the agreement allows. In return, landowners get significant tax breaks from federal and state governments. Over a period of time, they can deduct the difference between the value of the land had it been fully developed and its current undeveloped value.
The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust isn’t shy about going after slices of pristine environment that insensitive development might destroy. “We do target specific properties that have natural-heritage value,” says Gary. “Last year, we bought two properties totaling 100 acres--one was a cliff face, and the other was an Southern Appalachian bog. We also focus on sensitive habitats, such as the watershed for the town of Highlands.” Donors come from all walks of life. “They range from retired printers to people active in business to people who have horse farms to young people with summer houses,” observes Gary. “So donors are all over the map. We recently got a call from two brothers who are buying a 300-acre tract to put two houses on.”
“It’s a race between the land disappearing due to houses being built and the land being protected,” Gary says. “We are never, ever going to protect all of the land. What we would like to do is protect some of the land that maintains our ecosystems. “Conservation easements are wonderful, flexible mechanisms,” he concludes. “They’ve protected more land in the last 10 years than federal and state agencies combined. And you still get to own the land. How American can you get?”
Learn More To learn more about the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, visit www.hicashlt.org. To find a land trust in your area, contact the Land Trust Alliance at www.lta.org.
You can’t improve upon the mountain beauty of Western North Carolina, but every day, people try. They carve out homesites on pristine ridges, patch the scars with mansions adorned with exotic woods and imported stone, and relax in their updated versions of paradise.
John and Marsha Warren of Cashiers know a better way. Their modest-size, rustic home, gently nestled into the meadow beneath the sheer stone face of 4,930-foot Whiteside Mountain, sprouts from the soil as naturally as the nearby rhododendrons and ferns. Native materials harvested from the property form the structure’s skin and bones. Thanks to careful planning, its beautiful setting will never be spoiled.
Mountain Getaway
The house was born as a tiny cabin built from American chestnut logs by John’s grandfather (James E. Warren, Sr.) on 300 acres of family property in the 1930s. “It was his getaway cabin,” explains John. “He’d sneak away, drink martinis with his friends, and play cards.” After John’s grandfather died in 1952, the cabin sat lonely and deserted for nearly two decades. Upon graduating from college in 1971, John set about restoring it and moved in three years later.
Marsha first glimpsed the cabin a few years before she and John married in 1979. Its idyllic setting quickly worked its magic on her. “But I never imagined living in it,” she admits. “I thought, ‘What a wonderful cabin to camp out in.’ ”
Cramped quarters and the arrival of two children meant the home had to grow. Designer Tim Greene proposed a two-story addition featuring cedar shakes and chestnut paneling. “We wanted to respect the beauty and tradition of the original cabin,” says John.
Behind the main house, a new guest cabin crafted from poplar logs cut on-site echoes that look. When guests don’t fill its rooms, mountain music does. John plays guitar and banjo during frequent jams with his band, the Cashiers Music Company. With no nearby neighbors to disturb, tunes of bluegrass, jazz, ragtime, and blues float down the valley until the wee hours.
Inspired by His Surroundings
John and Marsha run a thriving landscaping company called Natural Landscapes. Though John majored in city planning, the mountain scenery teaches him now. “It helps not being so smart,” he jokes. “I don’t have too many of my own ideas, so I use nature for guidance. I look at streams and rocks and re-create that natural beauty.”
Rock walls he constructs look as if they’ve existed forever. “We don’t just lay rocks on top of the ground; we set 30% of the rock into the ground,” he explains. “Things don’t always have to be plumb and square. They have to look natural.”
Insensitive construction and rapid development in the Cashiers area concern the Warrens. “New houses provide jobs, but if we lose the scenic beauty, people will not want to come here,” warns John. Marsha adds, “Overdeveloped areas create erosion and affect water tables. If they just nestled in the houses and didn’t cut everything around them, it wouldn’t be so unsightly.”
As an example they hope many others will follow, the entire Warren family has taken a bold and enlightened step. They plan to place 132 acres of their property in a conservation easement with the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. They’ll retain title to the land and get a significant tax break, while permanently protecting the site from unwise development.
“To me, it’s a win-win situation,” states John. “It’s a win for the environment and also the family, because we know future generations won’t change the original dream my grandfather had.”
"In Tune With Nature" is from the October 2008 issue of Southern Living.
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