As communities along the Nolichucky River continue recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024, Rick Long is quietly restoring not only his newly purchased property but also preserving a piece of Tennessee history for generations to come.

The property has deep local roots. Fifteen acres remain in trust for Don Bible’s niece, Jean Anne Dugger, who is also in the process of completing cleanup of her property. Mrs. Dugger can speak to the family’s early Tennessee settlement and the generational importance of the land. Just before Helene struck, Rick purchased a 25-acre piece of property from Donahue Bible, husband of the late Betty Everhart Bible whose family has been connected to the Dr. M.P. Everhart legacy homestead property for over 100 years.

The damage from Helene was more than merely cosmetic. The storm completely restructured the layout of the land and caused significant debris damage along the river corridor, rerouting the flow of the river during the flood. Since then, recovery efforts have removed an estimated 50,000 cubic feet of storm debris from the adjacent, upstream Nolichucky River area, with cleanup and restoration by local landowners still ongoing.

Rick explains, “Helene’s extreme river flooding caused widespread destruction, to not only my land but to the David Crockett Birthplace State Park, the Appalachian Trail Corridor, and Cherokee National Forest. The devastation caused by such flooding, wind-driven blowdowns, and slope failures will take years for our region to recover from. Without forest cover, water accelerates, erodes slopes and overwhelms creeks and rivers faster. While we still had unprecedented damage, without conserved lands, it would have likely been much worse.”

The debris removal process has been extensive and strenuous, and the process is tedious. Rick estimates it will take at least two more years for completion. An enormous volume of debris and wreckage accumulated in the trees themselves, and the mud and muck were as high as two feet in most places. “It was evident, just by looking at my own tree line, how much water must travel through these dense areas of wood. This slows down water speeds and acts as a filter for debris. These undeveloped lands allow water to soak into the soil which helps prevent run off into storm drains and rivers. This directly impacts how severe flash flooding becomes,” he says.

This is a story of weathering the storm and choosing conservation as part of Greene County’s future. Now, through partnership with FLC, the property represents both environmental restoration and long-term conservation in one of Greene County’s most scenic and historically significant corridors.