Pates Creek Henry

Status

The conservation of the Property in its relatively natural state aids in the protection of water quality and quantity through retention of water in the soils and plants on the Property, with slow release after movement and filtration across the Property and along its streams. This, in turn, benefits downstream creeks and rivers, including Pates Creek (on the southern boundary of the Property), and downstream, the Little Cotton Indian Creek, Big Cotton Indian Creek, and the South River watershed in the Piedmont Ecoregion. The South River watershed above Jackson Lake is identified by the Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) as a priority watershed for the state in the Piedmont Ecoregion.

The state SWAP prioritizes species, natural communities, and waterways in the state that are priorities based on the rarity of species, rarity and/or importance of natural communities, and water quality, water quantity, or waterway support of rare aquatic species. SWAP natural communities for the Piedmont Ecoregion that occur on the Property include Mesic Hardwood Forest and Streams. Mesic Hardwood Forest is the forest on slopes or in ravines with mature hardwoods dominating over pine trees in an open setting. Streams are low to moderate gradient natural waterways and typically contain well-defined riffles and pools.

The permanent Protection of the Property also conserves the soils, and examples of Prime Farmland soils and Farmland of Statewide Importance soils are found on the Property. These soils are valuable for farms and farmland production of crops and trees because they have higher yields than normal soils.

The Property is located outside of the city limits of Stockbridge, and development pressure is very high on properties such as this one. Conservation of the Property eliminates development pressure on the Property, and provides open space, green space and scenic value for the area and residents that live nearby or use Pates Creek Road.