Tennessee Milestones

Since 1978, The Nature Conservancy has helped protect almost 470,000 acres and worked to create or expand 36 state natural areas and state parks, 22 state Wildlife Management Areas, 5 national parks and forest service lands, and 4 national wildlife refuges in Tennessee. This is in addition to establishing our own system of 16 nature preserves.

Conserving nature in Tennessee over more than four decades has provided the opportunity to cultivate skills that make it possible to pursue larger-scale and more complex projects than ever before. 

Time is of the essence. But we are up for the challenge. However, it is important to recognize the true urgency of our work in a world that is projected to have more than nine billion people by 2050.

Protecting nature—and providing water, food and energy to a growing population—are no longer mutually exclusive goals. Addressing these together are paramount to sustaining life on Earth.

Can we design a future that meets people’s basic needs without further degrading the planet? Yes! But doing so will require collaborating across traditionally disconnected sectors within society, including public health, development and finance. Also, this work must occur at an unprecedented scale with little time to waste.

We look forward to sharing more with you about new partnerships and evolving ways of equally balancing the needs for food, water and energy with protecting nature. First, it begins organizing our work around the following four priorities:

• Protecting Land and Water
• Tackling Climate Change
• Providing Food and Water Sustainably
• Building Healthy Cities

See how we are doing in our annual Impact Report.