Our mission is to educate, cultivate, and empower an engaged public for the stewardship of protected public lands. The Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) is a conservation non-profit dedicated to providing stewardship to protected public lands in the Southern Appalachian region, which includes areas in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. Founded in 2010, SAWS serves as a resource for the federal agencies, supplementing existing stewardship efforts and providing support where there are none. In 2018, SAWS generated over 35,000 hours stewarding public lands, generated 39 seasonal jobs, and engaged over 100 unique volunteers.