Bowater Land Near Rugby Gets Partial Funding

More timber lands from paper company Bowater may avoid development because of a grant from the state’s Heritage Conservation Trust Fund.

Bowater has been selling off its 360-thousand acres of Tennessee landholdings since last year. This 185-acre tract sits adjacent to the historic town of Rugby and the Big South Fork National Recreation Area.

A request to fund the project was turned down initially because the parcel wasn’t in immediate danger of development, but Rugby officials redoubled their efforts in recent months. The trust fund’s executive committee met (today/yesterday) and voted to cover most of the 425-thousand dollar purchase price.

Board member Bruce Dobie says the town of Rugby will have to put up 100-thousand dollars of its own money.

“It’s important that people who ask us for money have a little skin in the game. These are people who live in Rugby who many of them have second homes in Rugby and they have the wherewithal to chip in a little. We’re not asking for a lot.”

The Heritage Conservation Trust Fund issued more than 10-million dollars in grants to eight separate projects last year which included some other Bowater properties.

Grant requests for the upcoming budget cycle are due in March 1st.

At (today’s/yesterday’s) meeting, board members also made plans to name Marie Stringer executive director of the trust fund. Stringer served as a policy analyst for Governor Phil Bredesen in his first term.