Blog

The farm hosts an American Chestnut Forest (an extinct historic plant community). There’s a hardwood forest, too, and Southern Hemlock—a species threatened by pests across the U.S. and threatened on Coal Creek a few years back, though a management solution was applied. There is shortleaf pine on the farm and a White Pine forest, too. […]

The land was clear-cut for years, but recently, controlled burns have helped clear thickets to provide for the natural recruitment of native seeds and plants. The vegetation of the Cumberland Plateau has changed dramatically since the onset of widespread logging and fire exclusion. Today the Plateau is forested across nearly its entire length, but multiple […]

The Southeastern Grassland Institute has been conducting an inventory, a biodiversity study of the plants and animals on Coal Creek Farm on the Cumberland Plateau. Beyond the biodiversity study a variety of experts have been advising George Lindemann on controlled burns, pest management, forest botanical preservation and so much more. The results of the study […]

South Florida faced an oncoming tropical storm near Election Day this year, but that didn’t stop Miami Beach voters – 65 percent of them – from voting to support arts and culture. The substantial investment of $159 million includes $20.1 million for The Bass Museum. There is very little that 65 percent of voters in […]

Take a look at this map. Go to the second letter N in the state of TN and look at the bright red coloration a bit to the left. That is the location of my farm, Coal Creek. I am thrilled the New York Times has run this story on the front page, highlighting the […]

My working farm on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee is one of my passions. Another is paddling the region’s rivers. Because of that I have, for years, worked with other landowners, the government, non-profits and environmentalists to ensure the preservation of these regional treasures. We were successful in having Piney River named as a Wild and […]

I love my farm, and I love being the steward of beautiful landscapes, abundant wildlife, and especially the new species we’ve found of both plants and animals. We’ve had many management challenges like spraying poison on bugs to save trees or another less effective solution. How do we ensure that any Ginseng found is properly […]

Thanks for your interest in the mushrooms we found on Coal Creek Farm. It’s been a dry spring, so the mushrooms are “resting” but the bugs are alive and buzzing. We’ve had researchers on property cataloging the bugs. It’s fascinating to watch them work. I wrote a story about it for the American Entomological Society […]

When we invested in Florida’s Lake Point Restoration we had two goals: aggregate mining and water. We spent years gaining the approvals, moving through the public hearings and processes, establishing partnerships with Martin County and the South Florida Water District, completing research required by the various agencies while crossing all i’s and dotting the t’s. […]