The Story of the Highlands nature sanctuary

     It took only one generation to cut the forest down. Let us go down in history as the generation with the wisdom to bring it back.

Wilderness. If you could, would you save it? 

In 1995 the Highlands Nature Sanctuary published its first black and white brochure without any pictures and the simple query above. The mission of this newly formed non-profit was wilderness restoration in southern Ohio. It was a brave affirmationat the time, some would even say naïve. With simply three volunteers and zero dollars in the bank account and zero acres in deed, the Sanctuary existed by merely a name and a dream. Yet today, the organization -- now named The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System -- has raised over $10 million dollars and have purchased over 3000 acres of some of the most beautiful forests, prairies and wetlands in Ohio in eleven separate preserves. Although we have made incredible accomplishments, we hope this is just a beginning… To bring wilderness back to the Eastern temperate forests requires the purchase of an immense amount of land. We need the help of everyone who still believes wilderness is possible, and is willing to transform dreams into action.

Here is how it all began...

This is the story of the Sanctuary; and how the commitment to save the Rocky Fork Gorge was shouldered by hundreds of households across Ohio as a coordinated grass-roots effort. Since the non-profit was founded in 1995, over seven million dollars has been raised for land acquisition — all this with negligible costs for payroll and overhead administration. Even today, only four employees are involved in running the Sanctuary’s education programs, 14 miles of hiking trails, land management and protection oversight, newsletter publication, E-magazine production, and three overnight lodges — the rest of the labor is volunteer! We retell this story because many households who have come to support the Sanctuary over the years may never have heard the story of how it all began, and how it came to be what it is today.

It all started when two retail store owners and past employees of the Ohio State Park system, unwittingly and reluctantly were drawn into founding the organization in 1995. A few years earlier, after buying land in the region as a solo attempt at nature preservation, the partners had stumbled across a real estate listing. 7 Caves, a 100-year old historic cave park in the heart of the Rocky Fork Gorge was for sale, but its $1.2 million dollar asking price was way beyond their means.

The consequential story of the purchase and protection of the Rocky Fork Gorge proceeded slowly in a typical all-American fashion. Drawing together a small circle of friends, the founders devoted the next year and a half of their lives trying to find someone else to do it. When all leads failed and total desperation set in, they did what hundreds of households later did — they personally committed to the cause, founding a 501(c)3 non-profit charity with one other partner, passing out literature at their bakery business in Columbus, leading promotional nature hikes into the gorge, and being the first donors to the non-profit with both land and money. A board of trustees was soon formed to run the non-profit, and the Sanctuary was born.

Because the asking price on the entire cave property was immensely daunting, the newly formed non-profit organization negotiated with the owners of 7 Caves to buy only 47 of the property’s total 60 acres. The 47 acres desired for purchase contained some of the most spectacular scenery to be found in the state — a 100 foot deep river canyon with vertical walls, sinking springs, and waterfalls. Left in 7 Cave’s ownership were some of the park’s most beautiful geologic features and finest hiking trails, as well as the visitor center, parking lots, and most importantly, the seven caves themselves.

By the autumn of 1995, $60,000 was accumulated toward the $203,000 sale price, raised mostly over the founders' retail bakery counter in the downtown city market of Columbus. A few days before Thanksgiving in the same year, the fledging land trust signed the deed to 7 Caves’ perimeter, borrowing $140,000 from The Nature Conservancy to make the transfer possible.

Since that time the initial efforts put into Sanctuary by a devoted few has been dwarfed by a cadre of grass-roots volunteers. Through their efforts the Sanctuary has purchased a total of over 60 separate properties now permanently preserved, 2000 acres of which are in the Rocky Fork Gorge and 500 acres in botanical hotspots scattered along a region called the Arc of Appalachia -- a verdant landscape nestled between the leading front of the Appalachian foothills and the Scioto River -- covering a five county area.

The most dramatic chapter in the story of the Highlands occurred in 2006 when the Sanctuary finally took over ownership and operation of the last thirteen acres of 7 Caves and restored the caves back to their natural condition, turning the tourist part into highly visited nature preserve.

Large projects require the skills of many people. Traditionally non-profits turn to staff to accomplish major initiatives, using volunteers for peripheral activities only.  To remain a low-overhead organization, the Sanctuary is doing something most non-profits don’t have the courage to do: let go! We have been blessed with volunteers possessing a wide variety of skills amongst themselves. They gather information on the non-profit’s needs, take inventory of their own skills and interests, solicit help from each other as needed, and then follow their own inner promptings. The reason this level of self-determination works is because everyone in the group commits to lateral communication. The blessings of e-mail! Independently-working and empowered individuals is the key to a successful grass-roots work force. We think the organizational structure is in synchrony with and reflective of  the ecological communities the Sanctuary is trying to save.

A few years ago The Highlands Nature Sanctuary was visited by Tom Butler, editor of the prestigious ecological journal, since discontinued, called Wild Earth. Tom was visiting selected nature preserves across the United States, gathering 40 preservation stories for a coffee-table book to be called Wildlands Philanthropy. Having Tom at the Sanctuary was a breath of fresh air. His connections to legendary environmental workers across the country and his depth of knowledge in the preservation movement made us continually hungry for further conversation and mental stimulation. Tom told us of an American  philanthropist who funded and purchased several hundred thousand acres in Chili and Patagonia, and another who single-handedly was saving immense acreage in Florida. These stories made our efforts here in the populated and fragmented state of Ohio seem rather small  and insignificant in scope. When finally it became time for Tom to depart, he said what we thought was an astounding thing, “ So far of all the projects I have researched for this book, and all the people I have talked to, the Highlands is one of my favorites.” When we pressed him why, he said, “Most preservation success stories revolve around one or two wealthy benevolent philanthropists. And that’s incredibly beautiful. But here at the Sanctuary, it is truly grassroots. It’s a creation of many people against all odds. And that gives me hope.”

 Nature, our first cradle, continues to call us home. Let us hope, when we collectively have the wisdom to accept the invitation, that there is still some place left to go.