Turkeycreekfalls 20210508 112932 E1754596776148 — Turkey Creek Nature Preserve (The Bama Buzz)

Thursday marked a big day for nature lovers in Alabama as the Forever Wild board approved to move forward with plans to purchase multiple tracts of land.

Two of the largest expansions will happen to the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Jefferson County and the Dugdown Corridor connecting Talladega National Forest to the state line.

Keep reading to learn more about what comes next for both pieces of land and what it means for the future of nature preservation in Alabama.

Turkey Creek Nature Preserve

Two separate properties bordering the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve took a step towards an official purchase through the Forever Wild board.

The first is a 245-acre tract currently owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The land was previously nominated for purchase, going through the appraisal process before an offer was declined.

However, when the land was listed again just last year, TNC stepped in to buy and hold onto the land, giving the Forever Wild board time to go through its process.

“I want to note that this would not have been possible without TNC stepping in and negotiating that transaction with the previous property owners and holding the property so it could be nominated. They put in a lot of work to make this happen. They recognized the potential of this property. Would not have happened without them.”
Charles Yeager, Director of Land and Water Conservation, Jefferson County Greenways

A second piece of land, currently owned by the Bell family, also moved forward during Thursday’s meeting. If both purchases are finalized, the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve would cover more than 1,000 acres.

The area is already considered one of the most heavily utilized natural areas in the state but the extra land will provide even more options for visitors, especially with trails.

“It will provide a lot more opportunity for expanding the trail system. Our trail system is fairly limited, it’s maxed out at about seven miles. We anticipate with these two additions, combined with the property that is already on that side of the road, that we could potentially see up to more than 20 miles of trail.”
Charles Yeager, Director of Land and Water Conservation, Jefferson County Greenways

The additional property will also bring more elevation, providing the highest points in the entire preserve. Yeager also noted the amount of large trees on the property.

There is still a journey ahead before the extra property officially becomes part of the preserve for visitors to enjoy but Thursday marked a big step.

Yeager described it as a huge relief to get the land protected before it gets bought by someone else looking to build on the land.

“There’s always this dark cloud looming when there’s this undeveloped piece of property that somebody might grab it up and develop on it. Once we get over this hurdle, it’s a huge relief to know there’s no threat to do that in the future… These properties have not been logged, there has not been heavy disturbance at these properties. So finding continuous land in Jefferson County that is in such great health is very, very rare. This is a phenomenal opportunity to protect the established diversity on the property.”
Charles Yeager, Director of Land and Water Conservation, Jefferson County Greenways

Dugdown Corridor Phase 2

“Talladega National Forest” by wayoutbhm is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Plans to purchase nearly 10,000 acres of land in East Alabama were also moved forward Thursday.

The Alabama Forestry Commission is using a $19.5 million forest legacy grant along with a require 25% match component from Forever Wild to purchase the land.

“A new state forest will be established over there. There will be this corridor that basically connects the north end of the Talladega National Forest into Georgia. A lot of that includes Terrapin Creek, a highly biodiverse freshwater stream.”
Keith Tassin, Deputy State Director, TNC

The Dugdown Corridor runs from the northern end of the Talladega National Forest to the Sheffield and Paulding Wildlife Management areas in Georgia.

Tassin said this land was one of the last viable options for connecting the two tracts of land.

“It’s extremely significant. A lot of that is industrial timberlands right now but the FC has plans to do longleaf pine restoration, which would have been the natural ecosystem that would’ve occurred there.”
Keith Tassin, Deputy State Director, TNC

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