This Friday, June 26 at 5:30 p.m. WLOS-TV, the Asheville channel 13 ABC affiliate, will be airing a segment about The Pacolet Area Conservancy&39;s role in the Blue Ridge Forever&squo;s 50,000 acre initiative.

TV personality Karen Wynne arrived in Tryon Monday to visit PAC-protected sites and interview PAC executive director Sally Walker, PAC land protection specialist Pam Torlina, and PAC conservation landowner Gerald Pack.

Walker spoke to Wynne about the importance of protecting the entire watershed, especially the mountains and the headwaters of the North Pacolet River. She emphasized that what happens on the &dquo;up&dquo; side impacts everything downhill and downstream, including farmland.

Interviewed in a pasture with grazing horses occasionally sniffing at the WLOS cameraman, Pack talked about the importance to his family of permanently conserving their 90-acre farm for future generations. The camera crew shot footage of Pack leading a horse and a farrier shoeing a horse. Looming behind the horses and lush grass in Pack&squo;s field were three mountains ‐ Tryon Peak, White Oak and Chocolate Drop. The first two ‐ Tryon Peak and White Oak ‐ define Blue Ridge Forever&squo;s Focus Area #17, which has been assigned to The Pacolet Area Conservancy for protection measures.

Focus areas have been identified by a group of state experts and Blue Ridge Forever biologists such as Torlina by the quality of their habitat areas. PAC&squo;s area contains many rare and endangered species, as well as high quality water systems. At a PAC-protected site along the Pacolet River, Torlina explained to the WLOS team how to identify clean, healthy water by the river&squo;s living organisms.

Blue Ridge Forever is a coalition campaign led by local land trusts and national conservation organizations to raise public awareness and financial resources to safeguard land and water in the Southern Blue Ridge. To learn more visit PAC&squo;s website at www.pacolet.org and click on the Blue Ridge Forever link or contact PAC at 828-859-5060.