Armed with rake and hoe, blueberry farmer Walter Clark is on a mission. He is determined to preserve the land resources of Northwestern North Carolina - an acre at a time, if necessary. As the new Executive Director of Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust, Clark will lead the region's most successful land conservation organization into its second decade.

Clark has assumed the Executive Director duties while James Coman, the 2008 recipient of the Governor's NC Conservationist of the Year award, moves into the position of Director Emeritus. "Walter Clark has a great depth of both experience and commitment to conservation," said Coman, "and I am thrilled to have him at the helm of BRRLT."

Walter Clark has been the recipient of several awards during his career, including the prestigious Old North State Award, while serving as the legal, planning and policy specialist with the Sea Grant Program at North Carolina State University. While intending to retire in Ashe County, Clark purchased a blueberry farm that had been operating as the Swansie Shepherd Farm. Clark and his partner Johnny Burleson were awarded the 2007 Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award for their efforts in the "preservation, restoration or maintenance of landscapes, gardens, streetscapes or grounds related to historic structures" by the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina. He did not get the luxury of spending even a full blueberry season in retirement before his talents were recognized and he was asked to serve on the Board of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust. From there, he became Deputy Director in 2007, then Executive Director in May, 2008. "I've been very fortunate to have worked with some very talented and experienced people, the foremost being James Coman," said Clark. "James has been a tremendous leader in the conservation community, and will be a tough act to follow."

Clark seems to have met the challenge enthusiastically by heading up one of the largest conservation efforts in the state - the 2,000 acre Pond Mountain site. He is leading the collaborative effort with Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust, High Country Conservancy, National Committee for the New River, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to secure this scenic treasure as a state recreation area, open to the public for hiking, camping, hunting and fishing. At 5,000 feet in elevation, Pond Mountain is in the direct view shed of significant mountains in North Carolina and Virginia, including Mount Jefferson, Three Top Mountain, Bluff Mountain, and Elk Knob in North Carolina and Whitetop Mountain, Mount Rogers and Grayson Highlands in Virginia.

In a twist of fate, the owner of Pond Mountain was the late Dale Shepherd, brother of one Swansie Sheherd - the same Swansie Sheherd who sold Clark his blueberry farm. "It doesn't surprise me. The community is very close knit in the High Country, which is one of the elements of this job that make it so rewarding", commented Clark. "Every farm and every wilderness tract that gets protected is a direct result of a concerned community citizen, doing what they feel is right. We're just here to assist them in that endeavor".