1st Blog: Conservation Development - Nature as the Foundation
Since February 2007, janeAnne Narrin of Eco-Stewards Realty in Asheville, NC has encouraged me to join the Active Rain network. janeAnne is a columnist for the ...
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Services for Real Estate Pros |
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| Kevin Caldwell | ||
| location_on Marshall, NC — Mountains-to-Sea Conservation, Inc. | ||
| web Kevin Caldwell's (lucille13) Blog | ||
Get to Know Kevin Caldwell
Kevin Caldwell is Vegetation & Wildlife Ecologist and owner of Mountains-to-Sea Conservation, Inc (MTS). Since 1994, Caldwell has worked with engineers, landscape architects, land trusts and their clients, USFS, municipalities, and over 75 private landowners in the southern Blue Ridge. He specializes in comprehensive botanical & wildlife inventory, natural community classification, and identification and management of rare species and critical habitats. His background in plant propagation and installation provides a basis for habitat restoration projects.
Kevin is experienced on remote lands and rugged terrain in all weather conditions. Recently, he served as Stewardship Ecologist for Sweet Water Trust of Boston. There, he worked closely with The Nature Conservancy, designed the organization's baseline documentation and monitoring protocols, wildlife tracking programs, and helped manage wilderness easements on 45,000 acres of land from Adirondacks through northern New England. He has field experience in the Mid-Atlantic, the southern Blue Ridge, and the southeast, the southwest, and Puerto Rico. He has worked with Equinox Environmental of Asheville, NC, Epsilon Associates of Maynard, MA, the Kentucky Natural Heritage Program, and is former co-owner of Appalachian Ecological Consultants (1996-2001).
He holds a bachelor's degree in Ecology from UNC-Asheville (‘96). He is a member of the Ecological Society of America, the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, Society for Conservation Biology, and Society for Ecological Restoration. He serves on the Land Management Committee for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the Forest Task Force of the Western North Carolina Alliance, both of Asheville NC.
Certifications
MTS helps real estate professionals, private landowners, engineers, land planners & landscape architects discover, protect, and manage the natural heritage of the land within "conservation development" land use plans. Why bother? The price of land is just the first part of land value - the value of the forests, waters, plants & wildlife are priceless. We help landowners understand the "natural capital" of their land, giving them financial and conservation options that do not exist for the landowner who does not inventory the "toolbox" of their land.
We conduct botancial & wildlife inventories, land use & conservation planning, habitat restoration & management, forest stewardship, and regulatory projects for a wide range of clients. We specialize in design of ecologically sensitve small communities offering private lots and large protected areas with trails and other amenities - the 'centerpieces' of the land.
We also "restore" the original landscapes where homesites are constructed by assessing the site, saving native topsoils and high quality plants & seeds from the actual site, and returning them to natural areas and homesites later - somewhat like native plants landscaping but using the actual native plants of the site. Additionally - we design & construct trails, restore and "release" damaged forests, remove invasive plant infestations, and control the hemlock wooly adelgid.
Kevin has performed biological work for:
Conservation Developments:
Sylvan Habitat / Brevard NC Balsam Mountain Preserve / Sylva NCLake Toxaway Community / NCSapphire Ridge / Sapphire NCFalcon Ridge / Cashiers NCNantahala Village / Topton NCBalsam Ridge / Balsam Grove NCLand Trusts & Nature Preserves
The Moog Foundation (yes - the man who invented the synthesizer!) / Leicester NCSouthern Appalachiah Highlands Conservancy / Asheville NCConservation Trust for North Carolina / Raleigh NC Conservation Advisors / Brevard NC Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy / Hendersonville NCFoothills Land Conservancy / Morganton NC Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust / Highlands NCWildacres Retreat / Little Switzerland NC North American Land Trust (NALT) / PennsylvaniaThe Overton "Old Growth" Park / Memphis TNDewar Wildlife Trust's "Gorilla Haven" Project / GeorgiaValle Crucis Conference Center / Valle Crucis NCThe SmartWood FoundationAnd over 75 private landowners who care about the land
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Ecological Inventory, Conservation Planning, Land Stewardship & Habitat Managment, Wetland Delineation / Permitting and T&E Assessments, Ecological Community Design. Often Refered to REALTOR clients.