Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust has chosen the chestnut leaf & burr as part of our logo because the story of the chestnut is an allegory of our land preservation mission. The chestnut tree was an Appalachian native that dominated the mountain forests. It was valued not only for its natural beauty, but also for its economic benefits. Mountain residents utilized the chestnut for firewood and lumber. They sold the nuts for cash, and fattened livestock on them as well. Even the bark was used- being essential in the process of tanning leather.

In the 1920s and 1930s, however, chestnut trees were totally destroyed by a fungus. The loss of the chestnut completely changed the mountain forest landscape. And it was a traumatic economic loss for mountain residents who depended on the tree for so many resources. We see something similar happening to our mountain land. Forests and farms are being lost at a rapid rate to the blight of uncontrolled development.

Communities lose their character as familiar rural scenes are forever replaced by suburban buildings. Mountain families who depend on the land for all or part of their income, are often forced to sell their land in order to pay costly taxes resulting from extremely high land values.

In the same way that the loss of the chestnut was devastating to mountain communities years ago , the loss of the land is having a negative impact today. But unlike the chestnut fungus, we can prevent the blight of urbanization from destroying all of our land resources. Consequently, Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust has adopted the mission of Preserving Rural Communities & Culture in Northwestern North Carolina Through the Protection of the Land Resources Upon Which They Depend.