BTA Receives 40-acre Land Donation in Southeast Ohio

The Buckeye Trail Association is excited to announce that on Thursday, May 7th, we received a generous 40-acre donation of land in Southern Perry County.

The land was donated by Arc of Appalachia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to buying and preserving the most intact natural areas in the Appalachian region. So far, the organization has managed to conserve nearly 15,000 acres of land in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Arc of Appalachia’s donation was made possible by Forest Conservancy Limited’s Brian Blair. Forest Conservancy Limited is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and managing forest ecosystems. It focuses on sustainable forestry, combating invasive species, and protecting land for future generations through collaboration with government entities, private landowners, and local communities.

The two organizations worked together to acquire and preserve this property, and through their donation, it was put into an easement that will preserve the land in perpetuity.

The hilly forest property will be called the Dugan Ridge Preserve. The preserve is surrounded by Wayne National Forest (WNF) land, and it ties in with an ongoing Buckeye Trail construction project through the WNF.

This trail construction project is taking place as part of an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant. The grant aims to fulfill a broader initiative of creating a publicly accessible 100+ mile interconnected regional trail system, forming the longest backpacking destination in Ohio. This route will wind its way through the new Dugan Ridge Preserve.