Visitors to the Stone Door cliffs at South Cumberland State Park won’t have to look across Savage Gulf and see vacation homes built on the opposing bluff.
Conservation groups have finalized the purchase of 3000 acres of the viewshed, with most of the funding coming from the state.
Bowater previously owned the Cumberland Plateau tract, but the paper company has slowly divested its landholdings. Chris Roberts of the Land Trust for Tennessee says visitors to the South Cumberland State Park won’t notice anything different.
“It really is about what you don’t see. It’s been that way for a very long time, and these protection efforts are going to keep it that way.”
A private gift from an anonymous donor closed out the fundraising in recent weeks. The rest of the money came from the state – $3.5 million from the Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, which was committed in 2007, and $2.5 million from the state’s land acquisition fund.
Conservation groups have also finalized the outright purchase of property along the Fiery Gizzard Trail. Federal funds and conservation easements donated by landowners will protect 2400 acres there.
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