Walmart Protection Money

Asheville, NC's Mountain Xpress dated 18 January 2012 has a post by Margaret Williams titled "Blue Ridge Forever receives $500,000 grant to protect 12,000 acres in WNC and eastern Tennessee" that spells out details of a grant from Walmart reported here earlier.

The specific mention of the A.T. comes in this paragraph:

At nearly 10,000 acres, Rocky Fork, located just over the border in Tennessee, is the most prominent of six tracts in the project. The Conservation Fund, Cherokee National Forest, and the State of Tennessee acquired it in 2008 in cooperation with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Rocky Fork was one of the largest unprotected high-elevation parcels remaining in the Southern Appalachians and is home to an array of rare and endangered species. The grant money will assist in the protection of the final section of Rocky Fork later this year, conserving a haven for wildlife, safeguarding water quality and supporting economic opportunities for neighboring communities.

There are a lot of trout streams in these tracts, hence the leadership role for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.