Our clients are as diverse as the lands we work on - land trusts, federal / state / local governments, environmental organizations, landscape architects, green-builders, engineers and over 100 private landowners. Monthly, we give 10% of our income stream to local and regional land trusts, environmental organizations, and others who directly protect public & private lands and educate the public about the plants, wildlife, and wild places that sustain us. We are proud to work with such a wide range of people, lands, and natural places. We also serve the environment on boards and trustees of conservation and farm-education non-profit organizations.

MTS has been involved with over 250 conservation projects in the Blue Ridge and eastern North America since 1997. These typically involve detailed botanical and wildlife inventories, scientific studies and research, plot data collection, GIS mapping, detailed reports, land management plans, and hands-on stewardship on the ground.

Recent Projects

Cherokee National Forest Botanical Surveys / US Forest Service of Tennessee. Botanical inventories of proposed timber-sales on US National Forest throughout eastern Tennessee.

Cerulean Warbler and Breeding Bird Surveys. Graham County, NC. Five-year project (2009-2013) focused on breeding season surveys of cerulean warblers in both protected and proposed timbering zones near Robbinsville NC. Joint project with US Forest Service and WildSouth.

Chestnut Ridge Old Growth Preserve Botanical / Wildlife Inventory. Giles County, VA. A joint project with Curtis Environmental for the 500-year Forest Foundation; a two-year project collecting ten Virginia NHP "releve" vegetation plots and wildlife species data in old growth forest.

Breeding Bird Survey of the Appalachian Trail in Western NC and Southwest Virginia. Breeding Bird Surveys above 4,000 feet elevation on 100 miles of trail across the five major high elevation zones of the AT in NC and VA. Results included 5,308 individual birds of 82 species detected including 25 NC / TN / VA Rare and Watch list bird species. Ten citizen scientists assisted with surveys, providing over 100 hours of surveys in 2010.

Wildlife Survey of the High Knob Property. Cullowhee NC. Wildlife Survey, management plan, and tax-credit application for the NC Wildlife Land Conservation (WCLP) Program; 160-acres.

Sherwood Forest "Green Areas" Botanical and Wildlife Survey. Brevard, NC . A two-year survey of the flora and fauna of the 265-acre common areas of the Sherwood Forest Community (one of the first conservation communities in the Blue Ridge) including 10 permanent vegetation plot and 30 breeding bird survey points and nearly 30 rare species records.

Wetland / Stream Restoration Assessment and Rare Plants Survey of the Camp Buc Property. Sapphire, NC. Assessment of wetland conditions and restoration opportunities and state T&E plant species survey in order to apply for state protection funding.

Natural Resource Inventory and Land-Use Plan of the "Old Home Place" Property. Saluda, NC. Year-long botanical and wildlife inventory of the 475-acre National Historic Register "Old Home Place" private property yielding 12 rare species and several new county records.

Rare Plant Species Inventory and Monitoring - Appalachian Trail Conservancy. 2007-ongoing. Oversight of historic and newly observed rare plant monitoring sites, data management, mapping, and citizen scientists.

Henslow's Sparrow Habitat Assessment. Manassas, VA. Assessment of proposed gravel mine expansion zone for Henslow's Sparrow habitat.

Old Growth Forest Survey of the Little Santeetlah Project Area. Robbinsville, NC. Survey and tree-core data collection of old growth forests adjacent to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest for Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition and US Forest Service, Cheoah District.

Old Growth Forest Survey of the Marshall Run / Root Run Project Areas - Virginia. Survey and tree-core data collection for old growth forests, Southern Environmental Law Center and US Forest Service, George Washington National Forest.

1000-acre Greenspace Baseline Documentation Reports for the James City County, VA Greenspace Program . Baseline documentation assessment, data management, and stewardship protocols for 10 county-owned conservation easements in partnership with The Conservation Consultant and BioGeoCreations.

Conservation Easement Baseline Documentations and Biological Inventories for Land Trusts.   Projects involve comprehensive botanical / wildlife inventories and baseline documentation reports for major conservation properties such as Shoal Falls, the Haag Property, Weedpatch Mountain, Hoopers Creek, Bearwallow Mountain, Deerfields, Camp Greystone, and Runaway Farm properties via the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.

Appalachian Trail Rare Species Monitoring. 2007-ongoing. Appalachian Trail Conservancy Project includes assisting volunteer rare plant monitors, locating new rare species populations, documenting species and lcoations un-monitored for many years, providing volunteer site-monitoring handbooks.

Minimum Impact Development Plans for Greenbuilding. 1997-ongoing. Long before the "green building" concept swept the nation, MTS was on-site helping conservation communities and private homeowners locate homes, roads, and amenities in least-impact sites based on the rare species, native plants and wildlife, and natural resources of a given site. Through feasibility studies we create minimum impact development plans which help landowners protect, utilize, and "recycle" the unique and fragile natural resources of their land - topsoils, native plants, quality landscape species, timber resources, and historical features that would be otherwise lost in typical development.

Big Briar Cove - South Turkey Creek. Bob Moog Foundation Inventory of rare plant and wildlife species, habitats, wetlands, and least-impact development sites of the 120-acre property owned by Dr. Robert Moog - inventor of the synthesizer!

Invasive-Exotic Plant Species Eradication. Ongoing. ID and removal of invading plant species such as English ivy, multi-flora rose, tree-of-heaven, princess tree, oriental bittersweet and others from rare communities and quality natural areas.

Sugar Creek Ecologial Inventory & Mangement Plan. Botanical / wildlife inventory and management plan covering forestry, rare species protection, wetlands, market production of native plants, educational program planning, and residential design.

Land Trusts & Conservation Planning
Cherokee National Forest (USFS) / Cleveland, TN
The 500-Year Forest Foundation / Lynchburg, VA
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy / Hendersonville NC
Sherwood Forest Community / Brevard, NC
Conservation Advisors of NC / Brevard, NC
The Bob Moog Foundation South Turkey Creek Property / Leicester, NC
Conservation Trust for North Carolina / Raleigh, NC
Foothills Land Conservancy / Morganton, NC
The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust / Highlands, NC
Wildacres Retreat  / Little Switzerland NC
Rough Creek Watershed (900 ac) / Canton, NC
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy / Asheville, NC
Woodfin Watershed (3000 ac) / Woodfin, NC
North American Land Trust(NALT) / Chadds Ford, PA
The Overton "Old Growth" Park / Memphis TN
Dewar Wildlife Trust's "Gorilla Haven" Project  / Paris Mountain, Georgia
Valle Crucis Conference Center  / Valle Crucis NC
The SmartWood Foundation, peer reviewer
Hatches Harbor Wetland Mitigation Study / Provincetown, MA
Appalachian Voices / Boone, NC
Western North Carolina Alliance Asheville, NC
Cherokee Forest Voices / Johnson City, TN
WENOCA Sierra Club / Asheville, NC
Dogwood Alliance / Asheville, NC