ATHENS, Tenn. - A Nonprofit has conveyed 222 acres containing part of the Cherokee Trails of Tears to the U.S. Forest Service.
The Conservation Fund purchased a 392-acre property in 2013 that contained a portion of the trail. According to the group, it conveyed 170 acres to the Forest Service earlier this year and the remainder last week.
Together, the two parcels extend from Hayesville, North Carolina, to Athens, Tennessee. They are nearly surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest.
The land will be managed by the Forest Service in conjunction with the National Park Service, the Cherokee and Creek tribes, and other state and local agencies and organizations.
It is part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, which traverses 4,900 miles in nine states.