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Friends of Warner Parks has purchased the Hill Tract, a 324-acre property that's home to an old-growth forest of trees more than two centuries old.
A heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped us meet the matching grant from the James Stephen Turner Family Foundation to purchase the Hill Property, with its ancient forest.
The outpouring of support for the acquisition of this unique property has been overwhelming, and has proved over and over again how big your hearts are, how much you value the Warner Parks, and how important it is to you that the ancient forest be saved for future generations.
It is quite gratifying to know how many of you wanted some ownership of this project, and each of you gave what you could to help us over the top. As outstanding pledges are paid, we will be able to pay off our bank loan and then convey the Hill Property to the City for inclusion in the Warner Parks.
Together, as a community, we achieved what none of us alone could do. It is a crowning achievement!
We have always known that the “ancient forest” was a treasure in and of itself, but we have not known what treasures it contained until just recently. Dwayne Estes, an assistant professor of biology, descended on the 324-acre site with a group of students and other professional volunteers. They documented every single plant, tree, shrub, grass, bird and animal spotted, including this flying squirrel. It was a true BIOBLITZ, and the forest yielded up its inventory of treasures, confirming that the educational aspects of this site are both rich and unending.