A History of Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve
When US Hwy 84 was being four-laned during the 1990's between Cairo & Whigham, GA., Angus Gholson, a Chattahoochee, FL botanist, received a call from the GA DOT saying there were some wildflowers along the highway near Wolf Creek Road in Grady County. For many years he led small groups of wildflower enthusiasts to view the late winter blooming flowers, identified as Dimpled Trout Lilies, Erythronium umbilicatum.
One year, Wilson Baker, a longtime biological surveyor in the southeastern states and member of the group, decided to walk further into the property to see if there were more flowers. What he found was breathtaking, there were millions of trout lilies and thousands of Spotted Trillium.
Wilson took Dan Miller, a native plant nurseryman with Trillium Gardens from Tallahassee to Wolf Creek in the Spring of 2006. They decided to begin working towards preservation, and contacted the owners, Flint River Timber Company. These owners bought the property a few years earlier to select harvest specialty hardwoods and spruce pine. This was at the height of the real estate boom, and the owners planned to sell it for a housing development. Dan realized they had better get to work quickly to save the irreplaceable treasure. This was a daunting task, so he thought first trying to purchase the 40-acre slope where most of the flowers were found. This was rejected since it would leave the upper acres for development, with the resulting pollution and possible harm to the slope. How was he to raise enough money to save the whole property?
In January of 2007, the timber company harvested select trees, building logging roads in the process.
In February 2007, Dan, Wilson, and Dr. Gil Nelson hosted a field trip for the Magnolia Chapter (Tallahassee) of the Florida Native Plant Society. It wasn't hard to recruit volunteers and potential donors for the envisioned project. The landowners visited and had no idea what a national treasure they had since they never visited the property during the brief bloom season. Now supportive of the conservation effort, the owners agreed to wait a year before putting the property on the market.
Dan, Wilson, Gil, and others set about contacting all the environmental groups that might be interested in purchasing and conserving the forest. One after another large state and national groups said they did not have the funds for such a project or that the property was too small for their involvement. Many groups and individuals wanted to contribute, but none could handle the whole project. At last, contacts led Dan to the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP), which helps GA counties purchase properties for conservation. GLCP would provide half of the needed money, if private donations could raise the remainder, Fifty percent of $665,000 plus costs. The title would be held by Grady County for conservation in perpetuity. The Grady County Board of Commissioners agreed to the proposal as long as they were not expected to put up additional money beyond the loss of tax revenue.
Dan Miller worked with the Atlanta office of the GLCP and the county attorney to write the grant. The grant was approved in December 2007. Many people had pledged to help, and now the fund-raising began in earnest. Many people, families, and groups, both local and regional, enjoyed the 2008 bloom season and made contributions. Especially helpful were the Magnolia Chapter (Tallahassee) of the Florida Native Plant Society, the Georgia Native Plant Society, and the Georgia Botanical Society. Because the real estate market was declining, the property owners agreed to extend the deadline and donate some of their potential profits, finally agreeing to take no profit at all.
By the end of the 2009 bloom season, all but $45,000 had been collected. The opportunity for the grant would expire that summer. Dan began looking for loans, with the discouraging prospect of having to continue the solicitation of funds to pay off the loans. But serendipity, or Providence, intervened. Betty Jinright of Thomasville had been one of the few who had viewed the trout lilies along Hwy 84 in the years before Wilson had found the masses. She and her husband Robert were part of an informal group of nature explorers led by Angus Gholson, called his Sparkleberry Club, named for the walking sticks Gholson made for all the members. Betty took many people to visit Wolf Creek during the 2008 and 2009 bloom season. One day during the 2009 bloom, Betty was preparing for a Birdsong Plant Sale, and called a phone number she had written on a seed packet, thinking it was a plant sale contact. She was surprised to find herself speaking to a friend who had no idea what she was talking about. As they visited, she mentioned the Wolf Creek property and invited her friend to go there. The woman was familiar with and loved trout lilies from North Georgia. They had a wonderful visit to Wolf Creek, and Betty's friend was appropriately wowed. Betty gave her a solicitation letter; the friend made no comment. That was that, Betty thought.
Some weeks later, Dan received a phone call from Betty's friend. She had forgotten about the project but had just come across the solicitation paper and wanted to know what was still needed to complete the grant. Dan gave her the figure. She didn't make any commitment, but a few days later, Dan received a call from the Grady County Administrator, saying he had received a check for the remaining amount. This donor still remains anonymous.
The deal was completed before the state deadline, and thus Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve was formed and the property saved forever! Everyone who had worked so hard to save it could finally relax and enjoy the 2010 bloom, sharing the unforgettable experience with friends and visitors, with no fear of failure or no urgent need to collect money.
All great projects require one brave and persistent leader to keep the project going, no matter how many helpers are involved. For Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, this person is Dan Miller. Anyone who witnesses the sight of the millions and millions of trout lilies flowing over the curves of the slope owes him a thank you!
One year, Wilson Baker, a longtime biological surveyor in the southeastern states and member of the group, decided to walk further into the property to see if there were more flowers. What he found was breathtaking, there were millions of trout lilies and thousands of Spotted Trillium.
Wilson took Dan Miller, a native plant nurseryman with Trillium Gardens from Tallahassee to Wolf Creek in the Spring of 2006. They decided to begin working towards preservation, and contacted the owners, Flint River Timber Company. These owners bought the property a few years earlier to select harvest specialty hardwoods and spruce pine. This was at the height of the real estate boom, and the owners planned to sell it for a housing development. Dan realized they had better get to work quickly to save the irreplaceable treasure. This was a daunting task, so he thought first trying to purchase the 40-acre slope where most of the flowers were found. This was rejected since it would leave the upper acres for development, with the resulting pollution and possible harm to the slope. How was he to raise enough money to save the whole property?
In January of 2007, the timber company harvested select trees, building logging roads in the process.
In February 2007, Dan, Wilson, and Dr. Gil Nelson hosted a field trip for the Magnolia Chapter (Tallahassee) of the Florida Native Plant Society. It wasn't hard to recruit volunteers and potential donors for the envisioned project. The landowners visited and had no idea what a national treasure they had since they never visited the property during the brief bloom season. Now supportive of the conservation effort, the owners agreed to wait a year before putting the property on the market.
Dan, Wilson, Gil, and others set about contacting all the environmental groups that might be interested in purchasing and conserving the forest. One after another large state and national groups said they did not have the funds for such a project or that the property was too small for their involvement. Many groups and individuals wanted to contribute, but none could handle the whole project. At last, contacts led Dan to the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP), which helps GA counties purchase properties for conservation. GLCP would provide half of the needed money, if private donations could raise the remainder, Fifty percent of $665,000 plus costs. The title would be held by Grady County for conservation in perpetuity. The Grady County Board of Commissioners agreed to the proposal as long as they were not expected to put up additional money beyond the loss of tax revenue.
Dan Miller worked with the Atlanta office of the GLCP and the county attorney to write the grant. The grant was approved in December 2007. Many people had pledged to help, and now the fund-raising began in earnest. Many people, families, and groups, both local and regional, enjoyed the 2008 bloom season and made contributions. Especially helpful were the Magnolia Chapter (Tallahassee) of the Florida Native Plant Society, the Georgia Native Plant Society, and the Georgia Botanical Society. Because the real estate market was declining, the property owners agreed to extend the deadline and donate some of their potential profits, finally agreeing to take no profit at all.
By the end of the 2009 bloom season, all but $45,000 had been collected. The opportunity for the grant would expire that summer. Dan began looking for loans, with the discouraging prospect of having to continue the solicitation of funds to pay off the loans. But serendipity, or Providence, intervened. Betty Jinright of Thomasville had been one of the few who had viewed the trout lilies along Hwy 84 in the years before Wilson had found the masses. She and her husband Robert were part of an informal group of nature explorers led by Angus Gholson, called his Sparkleberry Club, named for the walking sticks Gholson made for all the members. Betty took many people to visit Wolf Creek during the 2008 and 2009 bloom season. One day during the 2009 bloom, Betty was preparing for a Birdsong Plant Sale, and called a phone number she had written on a seed packet, thinking it was a plant sale contact. She was surprised to find herself speaking to a friend who had no idea what she was talking about. As they visited, she mentioned the Wolf Creek property and invited her friend to go there. The woman was familiar with and loved trout lilies from North Georgia. They had a wonderful visit to Wolf Creek, and Betty's friend was appropriately wowed. Betty gave her a solicitation letter; the friend made no comment. That was that, Betty thought.
Some weeks later, Dan received a phone call from Betty's friend. She had forgotten about the project but had just come across the solicitation paper and wanted to know what was still needed to complete the grant. Dan gave her the figure. She didn't make any commitment, but a few days later, Dan received a call from the Grady County Administrator, saying he had received a check for the remaining amount. This donor still remains anonymous.
The deal was completed before the state deadline, and thus Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve was formed and the property saved forever! Everyone who had worked so hard to save it could finally relax and enjoy the 2010 bloom, sharing the unforgettable experience with friends and visitors, with no fear of failure or no urgent need to collect money.
All great projects require one brave and persistent leader to keep the project going, no matter how many helpers are involved. For Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, this person is Dan Miller. Anyone who witnesses the sight of the millions and millions of trout lilies flowing over the curves of the slope owes him a thank you!