Bordered by protected land owned by the state and the Chattanooga Audubon Society, the former McDonald Farm property in Sale Creek now owned by Hamilton County is teeming with wildlife.
An online petition that garnered about 2,000 signatures cited the wildlife at the farm as among the reasons the county should postpone its effort to rezone for manufacturing a 900-acre portion of the farm, which was purchased by the county for $16 million in 2021.
Kelly and Melissa Vicent’s property off Leggett Road in Sale Creek adjoins the Audubon Mountain property owned by the Audubon Society and overlooks the former McDonald Farm property.
“There’s a ton of hawks, a ton of ospreys over there that actually have nests all around the farm area,” Kelly Vicent said by phone.