FAYETTEVILLE — If land owners and conservationists around Mount Kessler have their way, a rugged tract of forest and trails will remain natural and open for hiking and mountain biking.
They don’t want it to become a housing development.
These property owners and supporters want the University of Arkansas to buy 630 acres around Mount Kessler, in southwest Fayetteville. The UA wants to expand its sports fields and recreation facilities off campus to meet the needs of a growing university.
About 200 of the 630 acres are fl at and suitable for sports fields and a new Health, Physical Education and Recreation building, called the HPER building.
The remaining 430 acres is a hilly, wild tract of forest and trails supporters hope will be part of the sale, if there is one.
Supporters say the trails will provide outstanding hiking and mountain biking to UA students, faculty and the public.
The property is rich in forest, rock formations, wildlife and native plants that, supporters claim, would make an ideal outdoor laboratory for nature study minutes from campus.
Landowners and conservationists want the UA to purchase all 630 acres, not just 200, to relocate its recreation facilities. A letter-writing campaign in support of the sale is under way.
SHOPPING AROUND
The university is looking at four sites for new intramural sports and recreation facilities, said Jeremy Battjes, director of UA recreation. The search has just started, he said.
One site is the former Southpass development property, which is the 630 acres near Mount Kessler valued at $15 million to $20 million.
Chambers Bank, with branches in Northwest Arkansas, owns the property.
Supporters want the UA to buy the tract so it won’t become a housing development, said Frank Sharp, who lives near the property and is a leading supporter.
Their goal is to keep the trails open and preserve the hilly part of the property in a natural state.
“If the university doesn’t buy it, some developer will buy it and there will be 4,000 houses out there,” Sharp said.
Supporters have written letters to UA Chancellor David Gearhart asking the university to buy the Southpass property, located about three miles from the center of campus.
In a letter to Sharp, Gearhart confirms that the tract is one that the university is considering.
Price of the property and construction costs of infrastructure “will be a huge consideration in the final decision,” Gearhart wrote.
Sharp hosted UA recreation staff and others last Thursday for a hike to see the forested part of the property.
About 20 representatives from the UA and various conservation groups hiked about three miles of trail.
HIKERS WELCOME
The hiking and mountain biking public can use the Mount Kessler trails now if they ask permission by email.
Sharp said requests should be sent to kesslergreenways@pgtc.com. Trail users must sign a release.
Three property owners on Mount Kessler have formed Mt. Kessler Greenways. They allow access to private-owned trails by permission.
Our hike last Thursday started at Sharp’s home and wound uphill on a rocky, single-track path through hardwood forest.
Breaks in the trees off ered long vistas toward Farmington and beyond.
Rock formations greeted our footfalls. Shapes of stone started small, but got big in a hurry until spires reached 20 feet toward the sky.
This part of the tract is aptly named “Rock City” for its hodgepodge of formations. Here and there, trails slice through narrow fissures between stone walls.
The Ozark Off-Road Cyclists did much of the trail building here. Chuck Maxwell, the group’s trails coordinator, led last Thursday’s hike.
“We’d love to build more trails out here,” he said. The off-road cyclists hope that the UA buys all 630 acres.
Besides relocating sports fields, plans are to build a new Health, Physical Education and Recreation building at whatever site is purchased.
A corner of the current HPER building houses the UA’s Outdoor Connection Center where students and faculty can rent outdoor equipment including mountain bikes and backpacks.
If a new HPER building is built near Mount Kessler, supporters say students can rent a mountain bike and be riding a trail through the woods in minutes.
Bill Mock, associate recreation director at UA, was part of Thursday’s hiking tour.
New intramural sports fi elds and related facilities are badly needed, he said.
Between 5,500 and 6,000 students participate in intramural sports, he said.
“Eighty percent of the student body will participate in at least one aspect of our program,” Mock noted.
About 150 softball teams use the UA’s two softball fields. More fields are needed.
Games go on from 5 p.m. to midnight five days each week.
Conservation groups and Mount Kessler landowners say the property fi lls the university’s recreational needs and will preserve a prime natural area.
Outdoor, Pages 7 on 10/11/2012