Thanks to the generosity of an incredible 470 donors, 92 acres on the west side Chapman Mountain will be preserved!
Many stepped up to contribute the $370,000 needed, meeting our deadline within only 3 months. This addition means that Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve will now total 551 acres benefitting people, plants, and animals. Your support makes conservation successes like this one possible!
This 92-acre addition will fill a major hole in the existing Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve, expanding preserved land in central Huntsville to provide much-needed wildlife habitat and create the opportunity for a significantly larger future trail network. Due to the current real estate market and increased land values, the Land Trust had a tight 3-month timeline to raise the $370,000 needed to purchase the land by May 15, 2022.
This project recently received a grant funding from the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville‘s Ruth and Lyle Taylor Endowment.
Preserving Chapman Mountain
Despite being so close to Huntsville, Chapman Mountain has remained an untouched woodland area for many years. Full of wildlife, hardwood trees, karst features, a variety of interesting plant life, as well as trails from earlier days. It was in danger of being purchased and developed but in 2001, the Land Trust began efforts to preserve the mountain. Through the support of Terry Properties, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, and Vulcan Materials Company, the Land Trust was able to open Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve in 2018. Later that year, Alabama A&M University granted the Land Trust a trail license to access 188 acres adjoining the preserve, providing space for an expanded trail system. In 2019 following a successful community campaign for support, the Land Trust purchased an additional 86-acre portion of the mountain. This centrally-located haven for recreation and wildlife features an education pavilion, disc golf course, and over three miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.
Once again, we asked the community for their support to fill a final gap in the preserve by contributing funds towards the purchase of 92 acres available on the western side of the mountain. The property, surrounded on three sides by the existing Land Trust nature preserve, has been recently logged but will be allowed to naturalize over time to provide an uninterrupted wildlife corridor within a highly developed area. The video below shows the property’s location in relation to the Chapman Mountain Trailhead.
If you have questions about this land preservation effort, please contact us at questions@landtrustnal.org or 256-534-5263.