RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee House of Representatives on March 3 passed a bill creating four new state natural areas and expanding six existing ones. Two of the new ones are located in Rutherford County.
The first one is located in the Rocky Hill Road Glades, home to limestone cedar glade habitat
and the state-endangered Running Glade Clover. According to University of Tennessee Horticulturist Justin Stefanski, this is the only location on earth that this plant can be found.
Stefanski said the Running Glade Clover is crucial for the ecosystem of the limestone cedar glade habitats because it can take nitrogen from the air and put it in the soil, supplying nutrients to the other plants. He said he is very happy to see these rare and diverse ecosystems protected.
📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →
“This plant is extremely isolated, we’re talking about Rocky Hill Road cedar grove, which is a one-acre piece of land, so that’s the amount of space that this plant is found on. Again, if we lose that acre, this plant is gone forever. So they’re precious and I think they’re worth preserving,” Stefanski told News 2.
The other rare plant being protected is called Braun’s Rockcress. Like the Running Glade Clover, it is found in limestone cedar glades. The area being designated as a state natural area is a 40 acre piece of woods on Versailles Knob in Rutherford County.
Stefanski said Braun’s Rockcress can only be found in Middle Tennessee and in a small area in Northern Kentucky.
Stefanski said these cedar glades are home to many rare plants that need to be protected.
“Cedar glades are under threat, we look around especially in Rutherford County, urban development, urban sprawl, they’re building house where there used to be cedar glades, so as these glades get developed the habitat is smaller and smaller, and these unique populations get pushed onto even smaller areas,” said Stefanski.
Stefanski said he loves that state representatives are taking action to protect these plants that might not look beautiful, but are crucial for the health of Tennessee’s ecosystem.
