NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & SportsNew Site Helps Fight To Preserve Tenn. Farmland

New Site Helps Fight To Preserve Tenn. Farmland

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Every time a new shopping center or subdivision opens in Williamson County, chances are a farm or open piece of land is sold. A new website wants residents to realize and react to the dangers of development.

Tucked away in Williamson County on hundreds of acres of protected land there is a spot where scenery meets history.

"We're standing next to Cartwright Creek which is a tributary to the Harpeth River," said resident Mike Corn. "John Sevier signed the first deed, and John Sevier was the first governor of Tennessee."

The property has been in Corn's family for generations, and as development creeps closer to his home he worries what the future holds for his home.

"It would be bulldozed more than likely if a developer got a hold of it. It would be gone forever," said Corn.

As an environmental engineer, Corn knew that putting his property in the land trust of Tennessee would protect it from development and preserve its history forever.

"We still are only here for a short while and hopefully when we leave it somebody will enjoy it as much as we," said Corn.

James Ford works with the Southeast Watershed Forum, a non profit with a new website.

"Williamson County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state," said Ford.

The site explains the relationship between land preservation and water quality, and tells quasi-farmers how to manage livestock and keep a crop with water quality in mind.

"We always say if you have good soil, you have good grass - if you have good grass you have good cattle. We want to make sure we improve the water quality and improve the quality of the land and the quality of life," said Ford.

For more information on water and land preservation in Williamson County, click here.