The opportunity for Friends of Warner Parks to acquire the Hill Tract is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
On August 20, 2008, the Metro Tree Advisory Committee passed a resolution endorsing the acquisition of this 324-acre property, which will:
As important as these factors are, the discovery of an old-growth forest on the Hill Tract makes it essential that the Warner Parks acquire this property. Finding a virgin forest like this is extremely rare, especially so close to an urban area. The acquisition will allow the old-growth portions of the forest to be designated as a state natural area, preserved for generations to come. In addition to protecting trees that are hundreds of years old, it will extend protection to the unique vegetation there as well as several species of birds that require old-growth forest as a nesting site.
The project is expensive, but this is an opportunity Nashville can’t afford to pass up. We, the undersigned members of the Metro Tree Advisory Committee, urge every Nashvillian to step up and help make this acquisition possible.
It is my pleasure to inform Friends of Warner Parks that the Metro Parks Greenways Commission unanimously endorsed the acquisition of the H. G. Hill tract for inclusion into the Warner Parks. This tract contains irreplaceable and unique natural features that should be preserved for the use and enjoyment of the public for generations to come. It will be lost forever if the acquisition does not occur. The uniqueness and grandeur of the H. G. Hill tract cannot be overemphasized.
Among the duties specified in the Greenways Commission's by-laws are to “identify open space areas of the county that are appropriate for protection and preservation” and to “assist in the development and implementation of a regional open space system plan which will identify and foster the preservation of open space areas to protect valuable natural, cultural, and historic resources in accordance with the 2002 Metropolitan Parks & Greenways Master Plan.”
The acquisition of the H. G. Hill tract conforms to this mission stated in the bylaws. The Commission urges all interested parties, including the Metropolitan Government, to support this acquisition to the fullest extent feasible.
Friends of Warner Parks has a rare opportunity to acquire a 32.2-acre tract of old-growth forest that is believed to be the largest and finest of its kind in Middle Tennessee.
This virgin forest must not fall into the hands of those who would cut these large trees, many of which are more than 200 years old. Rather, the old growth portions should be designated a state natural area to protect it for future generations as well as continuing to provide a nesting site for various species of neo-tropical birds.
The addition of this unique tract will protect the viewshed from the existing Parks and developments while enabling Friends of Warner Parks to expand its educational offerings.
As the primary mission of the Nashville Tree Foundation is to preserve and enhance Nashville’s urban forest, its board of directors unanimously endorses your efforts to acquire the Hill Tract from the H.G. Hill Realty Company.
It is a challenge but one that must be taken so that our grandchildren and their children will have the rare experience of walking through an old growth forest with trees more than three centuries old.
It is with great interest and support that the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council (TUFC) endorses the Friends of Warner Parks effort to extend the Warner Parks system to include the H. G. Hill Realty Company Tract. This effort is in line with our mission of promoting healthy and sustainable urban and community forests. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that stands to benefit all future generations.
The maintenance of this land tract as a component of Nashville’s urban forest will provide priceless community value. The preservation of “old growth” forest as an original wildlife habitat will generate beneficial ecological services, including:
Thank you for your work to expand and preserve this treasured community asset.
I am writing in regard to the natural area attributes on the 324-acre property between Hwy 70S and Hwy 100 at 6811 Hwy 70S in Davidson County that is owned by H.G. Hill Realty Co. I was asked to visit this property and provide a brief assessment of the site's natural area qualities. A site’s natural area attributes are characterized by the occurrence of rare elements (species and communities), its unique geological/scenic features, and/or because a site supports high quality exemplary native plant communities that are becoming increasingly rare in Tennessee. An objective of my two site visits in April 2007 was to observe if any of these attributes are present on the property.
The most interesting feature observed as the occurrence of the many extraordinarily different large tree species, particularly those associated with the slopes and ridges. The approximate average size class of trees on the ridges was somewhere between 34 inches to 46 inches diameter at breast height (dbh). The approximate average size class of trees on the slopes was approximately 20 inches to 27 inches. These size class ranges are approximations based on estimates made after walking the majority of the 324 acres and taking numerous measurements. In addition, there were many examples of white oak, sugar maple, tulip poplar, black oak, red pignut hickory, American beech, chestnut oak, and other species that exceed these average size class ranges. The size class ranges of the ridge and slope forests here are perhaps the best examples of any comparable forest types found in Middle Tennessee including those found at Radnor Lake Designated State Natural Area (DSNA), Bon Aqua DSNA, Short Springs DNSA, Beaman Park in Metro Davidson County, and the Warner Parks just across Highway 100.
Furthermore, these large trees and the forest structure on this property is characteristic of an old growth forest ecosystem. There is no known history of logging on this property according to the property caretaker, whose father preceded him as property caretaker when the Hills acquired the property in the 1930s. There are no stumps associated with logging to be found. There are very large dead trees decaying on the ground occasionally scattered throughout the property, which is sometimes indicative of an old growth forest. The only anomaly was the trees found in the hollows were often smaller than those found on slopes and ridges, which is both unusual and perplexing.
Another interesting facet of the property was the occurrence of several trunks of dead but well-preserved American chestnut that was found on the driest of ridges where large chestnut oaks are common. American chestnut began to disappear from the American forest nearly a century ago.
In summary the occurrence of old growth forest is both rare in Tennessee and rare in the US. The occurrence of old growth forest in Davidson County is extremely unique. There are many qualities about this forest that suggest that it is old growth. This opinion is also supported by a report provided by Jeffery L. Cooper, Forester, Inc. in 2005. Regardless, the forest quality is excellent and the diversity of large tree species throughout the majority of the property is impressive. There is a formal process designating a land as a state natural area, which starts with evaluating the site's quality. Based on my two site visits, this property if acquired and became public land, would certainly receive very high marks for its quality if it were proposed as a state natural area.
It is my hope that this brief report provides the Friends of Warner Parks a better understanding of the properties ecological value and significance. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need further clarification about this brief assessment.
Although The Nature Conservancy (TNC) focuses its limited resources on large functional landscapes (as opposed to sites contained in more urbanized settings), the H. G. Hill site presented an opportunity to evaluate a very unusual tract for Middle Tennessee.
On April 3, 2007, TNC staff biologist, Chris Bullington, visited the H. G. Hill tract with Brian Bowen, a biologist from the Tennessee Division of Natural Areas and other interested parties. During the visit, a rapid ecological assessment was conducted to determine what conservation qualities might exist on the property. The biologists toured the 324-acre site on foot for approximately four hours to assess: general forest conditions, unique natural features, and potential occurrences of rare species and habitats.
The assessment revealed that the H. G. Hill tract contains a very high quality stand of “old growth” trees scattered over a wide area in several hollows on the property. The estimated age of these trees is over 200 years on average. It is the opinion of TNC’s biologist that the forest community is very unique, in that is has both a great variety of trees, and in addition, likely represents one of the oldest forest stands in Middle Tennessee. Though no endangered plants or animals were noted during this initial tour, observations of habitat quality support the notion that the tract is, at the very least, relatively rich in species that are uncommon. In particular, neo-tropical migratory birds which depend upon late seral stage forest conditions are declining across the country due to a lack of such habitat.
Overall, conservation of the H. G. Hill tract would help fill an important gap in habitat needs for these, and many other species. It is extremely rate to find a forested tract of this age, variety, and quality in any location in Tennessee, and particularly in this urban setting.
Foresters Letter to Sellers of the Property
The purpose of this memo is to offer my thoughts on the property for which I’ve recently written a greenbelt forest management plan. Hopefully you have had an opportunity to read over the plan and learned that you have an outstanding tract of timber. While I would be delighted to put a timber sale together for this property, I would be negligent if I didn’t make you aware of its distinctive attributes.
As mentioned in the plan, I estimate most of the forested acres are growing trees that exceed 200 years of age. Additionally, there are not signs of any timber harvest having occurred on the property, at least since mechanized machinery became available for logging. The timbers age, special composition, grade, and undisturbed condition are rare to find on forest tracts today. I’ve been working as a forester for over 30 years and in the Southeast it is unusual to find forests in this condition, even on National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and National Parks. Given the residential location of the property, it is even more impressive.
From the residential and commercial growth in the area, it is obvious that this is a very valuable property. The timbers value, as good as it may be, represents a small proportion relative to the lands value. However, undisturbed old growth timber is a qualitative variable that should not be underestimated. The value of most things is based on demand, and demand is based on popularity. My observations of modern day urban life styles tell me that nature and recreational areas are popular because they are rare in urban landscapes. The Warner Parks that border your property are treasured Nashville assets. Here in Memphis, plans for an interstate highway was canceled to preserve Overton Park. At Shelby Farms Park, in congested East Memphis, supporters have killed plans to widen roads to relieve traffic problems. People will pay, petition, and volunteer to keep,’ preserve, and expand these areas. If timber on your property is harvested, even a very light thinning, its undisturbed status will end and another 100 years or more will be necessary to recover. In a nutshell, a harvest will ring a bell that cant be unrung.
In conclusion, I suggest that before you decide on harvesting any timber you weight the potential effect of a harvest on the future property value.