OCTOBER 8, 2026

AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD FOR SLEDGE FOREST & OUR COMMUNITY

Today, the TRC revoked the March 10 conditional approval of the Hilton Bluffs plan.

We are deeply grateful to the members of the TRC for taking another careful look at this plan—and to County Manager Chris Coudriet for recognizing that the significant questions surrounding the March approval deserved a formal re-review.

Today, the process worked the way it should.

For more than two years, this community has continued to show up, ask questions, demand answers, and advocate for the safety of our neighborhoods and the protection of Sledge Forest.

We know this may not be over. We will be watching carefully to see what Copper Builders chooses to do next, and we will remain engaged every step of the way.

But perhaps this moment also offers an opportunity.

There comes a time to recognize when a project simply does not fit the place where it is being proposed. We hope Copper Builders will take this opportunity to listen—to the community, to the circumstances, and to what this extraordinary land has been telling us all along—and consider a different path forward.

We know this may not be over. We will be watching carefully to see what Copper Builders chooses to do next, and Save Sledge Forest will remain engaged every step of the way.

But today, we are grateful—to Chris Coudriet, to the members of the TRC, to our attorneys and experts, and especially to the thousands of people who have continued to stand with us and this ancient forest.

The future of Sledge Forest has not yet been decided. But today was an important step in the right direction.

_________________________________

We have important—and truly exciting—news to share.

We are proud to announce that individuals within the Save Sledge Forest organization have officially been taken on as clients by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to pursue a legal challenge to the conditional approval of the Hilton Bluffs development.

This means we will have an entire team of highly experienced environmental attorneys working on our case. Just as importantly, SELC will also be bringing on our local attorney—who has been working tirelessly alongside us over the past year—so we continue with the strength of both local knowledge and regional legal expertise.

What this means—in plain terms:

We have filed an appeal with the Board of Adjustment.
In simple terms, this is asking an independent local board to take a second, hard look at the county’s decision to approve this development and determine whether the rules were applied correctly.

It’s a formal way of saying:
“We believe things were done incorrectly—and it deserves to be reviewed.”

Why this happened

We share this with deep gratitude and a sense of perspective:

This level of support is never the result of any one effort. 

It reflects the steady, strategic work happening behind the scenes by our Save Sledge Forest leadership over the past year—and just as importantly, the strong and visible support from this community. 

Because of you—your voices, your presence, your advocacy—this is no longer just a local concern. It is a serious issue that has drawn the attention of one of the most respected environmental law organizations in the country.

SELC -the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan environmental legal advocacy organization rooted in and focused on the South - is made up of lawyers, policy and issue experts, and community advocates and partners that take on the toughest challenges to protect our air, water, land, wildlife, and the people who live here. The cases they take on - and win - are determined and decided through a critical review process.

And they have recognized that Sledge Forest represents one of the most important environmental threats in our country. At the same time, the potential threats to our community’s safety, well-being, and quality of life will be thoroughly addressed with the added expertise and insight of our local attorney.

A shared achievement

This is not just a legal milestone—it’s a community milestone.

It belongs to:

Every person who signed the petition

Every neighbor who showed up

Every voice that spoke up when it mattered

You helped make this possible.

What comes next

This legal support is specifically for the upcoming appeal only.

If the appeal is successful, we take a major step forward.

If it is not, the fight does not end—but it would mean we need to prepare for the next phase, one that will require additional resources through fundraising.

For now, we are focused, prepared and confident.

The appeal will go before the NHC Board of Adjustment at a yet to be determined date.

We will send out a Call to Action with all the details as soon as it is on their agenda – We are asking every one of our supporters to be at that meeting! 

This has always been about more than trees.

It’s about protecting a rare and irreplaceable forest.
It’s about safeguarding our community from a development that threatens our health, safety, and peaceful environment.  .

And it’s about ensuring that growth is planned responsibly—without treating the people, infrastructure, and natural resources already here as collateral damage. 

STAY TUNED…

We do not know what Copper Builders will choose to do now that the Hitlton Bluffs previously approved plan has been revoked.

Our appeal date has been moved to Dec. 8th at 5:30 PM. Whether SELC moves forward with that appeal will depend on what Copper Builders does between now and Nov. 9th (the deadline toapeal the revocation)

We remain vigilant. We will stay engaged and be prepared to defend Sledge Forest and our community from this ill-conceieved development for as long as it takes.

Because that forest is counting on all of us to protect it from harm…

We invite you to join our newsletter to get all the latest news and updates, volunteer opportuities and next steps i the ever-growing Save Sledge Forest movement.

SIGN UP HERE.

———————————————————

Sledge Forest has recently been added to the list of threatened Old Growth Forests by the Old Growth Forest Network. a national organization

The Old-Growth Forest Network is the only national network in the U.S. of protected, old-growth, native forests where people of all generations can experience biodiversity and the beauty of nature.