Communities
Conservation of the Land that We Own
Each year, more land is transformed from its natural state to support development activities. At Bridgestone, we recognize the need to preserve areas of wilderness to sustain the natural systems that we depend upon and create sanctuaries for wildlife. Therefore, we have set aside large tracts of land for conservation purposes.
The largest of these tracts is the Bridgestone Firestone Centennial Wilderness, a 10,000-acre forest area on eastern Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau that was donated to the State of Tennessee in 1998 and 2000. Also known as Scott’s Gulf, this spectacular area provides the public with a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, fishing, and canoeing. Wild turkeys, river otters, and Ohio muskellunge, all once native to the Caney Fork River Gorge, have been successfully reintroduced by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). We are also working on the American Chestnut Tree Restoration Project in the Centennial Wilderness areas.
In addition to the Centennial Wilderness, Bridgestone has established five other wildlife habitat areas on our land in Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Ohio. Plans for additional sites in South Carolina, Texas, and Brazil are underway. At each of these reserves, groups of volunteer employees team up with community groups to enhance the quality of the habitats for wildlife by removing invasive plant species and replanting with native species, raising food crops for migratory birds, and providing nesting boxes for birds.
One of these habitat areas is located on the grounds of the Warren County Plant in rural Tennessee. In 2004, the Warren Plant became a certified Wildlife Habitat Council site with 680 acres devoted to providing natural open and wooded areas, grasses and a pond.
Four years later, through a partnership with the Bridgestone Corporate Environmental group, Wildlife Habitat Council Corporate Lands for Learning program, Warren County School System, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and area Boy Scouts, the Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom and Habitat (BEECH) was created. Since it’s inception in September 2008, over 4,000 students, teachers and other visitors have enjoyed the BEECH.
We believe our actions to conserve and preserve land reflect good business practices and pride in our communities, and demonstrate our unwavering commitment to sustainability.
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