Dade County employees, nonprofit partners and other individuals visited a parcel of land that is part of the Dade County Community Forest project.
A community forest is a piece of land that provides water and wildlife protection, educational and recreational opportunities, and economic benefits, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Dade County Community Forest is an over-600-acre property, spanning from Lookout Creek on its western side up to the boundary of Lookout Mountain’s Cloudland Canyon State Park on its eastern side.
County employees and others visited the land parcel Wednesday.
Group conducts site visit to Dade County Community Forest
The Dade County project received a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund earlier this year, and the county has committed $500,000 to the community forest already. The full purchase price of the property is about $1.6 million, according to the Trust for Public Land’s Emily Camargo. The hope is to close on the land acquisition by late spring next year, Camargo told those gathered.
— Compiled by Sam Still