Sewanee Tries to Expand Land Holdings in Conservation Effort

The Land Trust for Tennessee and The University of the South in Sewanee are trying to finalize a 3,000 acre land purchase by February. The two have tapped out corporate and government donors and now need to raise nearly a million dollars over the next few months.

The $4.3-million land buy includes Lost Cove and Champion Cove in Franklin County, which sits next to part of Sewanee’s wooded campus. The deal will expand the school’s land holdings to 13,000 acres and will also connect it to an 8,000 acre state forest.

Land Trust director Jean Nelson says it’ll be useful for the school’s forestry students.

“This is really an outdoor laboratory and the resources will be protected forever under an agreement with the Land Trust for Tennessee.”

The state’s Heritage Conservation Trust Fund gave $1.75 million, the largest donation toward the purchase. The Nature Conservancy also gave $500,000. Both groups have focused attention in recent years to preserving forested land on the Cumberland Plateau.