The Peregrine Preserve, also known as the Peregrine Tract, is a spectacular 104-acre property located on a highly prominent ridgeline along the southeast face of Whiteside Mountain. Situated in Jackson County, North Carolina, just a few miles south of Cashiers, it rises  from the Chattooga River Valley in Whiteside Cove. The property shares its borders with U.S. Forest Service Nantahala National Forest lands to the north and east and sits squarely within the Highlands–Cashiers Plateau.

Whiteside Mountain is an iconic landscape feature in western North Carolina, often referred to as the “Yosemite of the East,” and the tract is highly visible from important viewing peaks including Rock Mountain, Chimneytop Mountain, Satulah Mountain and Whiteside Mountain itself. From its ridgelines, the property offers views across southern Appalachian hardwood forests and the headwaters of the Chattooga River. The preservation of the Peregrine Preserve is crucial for the biodiversity of the entire Highlands/Cashiers plateau, as it provides vital habitat for numerous rare and sensitive species within the region's unique temperate rain forest. This conservation effort is one step in the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust's (HCLT) mission of striving to protect unique and irreplaceable places of the Cashiers-Highlands Plateau, for all, in perpetuity.

Conservation Significance and Urgency

Conservation of the Peregrine Preserve has long been a top 10 priority for the HCLT, especially as the region faces tremendous development pressures. It protects portions of the Whiteside Mountain/Devils Courthouse Natural Area that have yet to be placed under conservation. The northern portion of the tract is ranked as "Exceptional" by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program and is considered of the highest importance for being home to many of the state's rarest species and natural communities.

As a Natural Heritage Area, Peregrine Preserve contains high and low elevation granitic domes that support rare species, including green salamanders, granite dome goldenrod, timber rattlers and Blue Ridge groundsel. Conservation of the property will also provide a greater buffer to the adjacent old-growth management area within the Nantahala National Forest and the nearby peregrine falcon eyries on the southeast face of Whiteside Mountain. 

Despite the natural attributes of the property, the urgent need for conservation was driven by the property’s target as an approved subdivision of 104 acres for 28 sprawling high-elevation homesites.

Partners and Acquisition

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT) collaborated with the Open Space Institute (OSI), Atira Conservation and several private local conservationists to purchase the property for $8 million. This partnership was essential to securing the parcel and ensuring its permanent conservation. Failure would have led to immediate development, forever irrevocably changing such a wild and special corner of the world.

Public Benefits and Future Management/Restoration

Acquisition of the Peregrine Preserve offers significant public benefits and recreational opportunities, including a new public connection to Whiteside Mountain and a prominent part of the proposed Clayton-to-Cashiers trail. Additionally, the property could provide new, legal access for rock climbers at Raven Rock, one of the first climbing routes developed in the area by the early Cashiers climbers. Project partners plan to create a management plan for sensitive forest communities and restore and enhance the area to support rare species that call the Peregrine Preserve home.

• Total Transaction Cost: $8,211,600
• Atira Conservation Support: $30,000