Donor Andy Walker From Tennessee

Andy Walker is a member of our Cornerstone Society, a special group of individuals who have invested long-term in our conservation efforts by making gifts of $500 or more for five years or longer.

Read his story:

I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee, and spent nearly all my time in the summers running around in the woods. When I was old enough I started backpacking, canoeing, tubing the Hiwassee and rafting the Ocoee.

I have hiked and camped throughout the southern half of the Cherokee National Forest and the adjacent parts of North Carolina and Georgia, but my favorite place is the Citico-Slickrock Wilderness Area/Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest—it has both great views and great creeks. When I go to the woods I want solitude, and I once spent five days in the Citico-Slickrock and saw just one other person.

Why I Choose To Support The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund stands out from similar organizations because of its thrift, its cost-effectiveness. I know that nearly all the money I give goes to protect land, water, and wildlife—not to pay for a huge administrative bureaucracy.

Buying land and conservation easements is simple, direct, and cost-effective. So is partnering with local groups that understand local conservation needs and economic realities better than any national group possibly could.  These are the strategies that attract me to The Conservation Fund. I also like the fact that The Conservation Fund protects not just environmentally important places, but places of historic and cultural importance too.