FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville officials have decided to restore a patch of open land on the southeast part of the city and open it to the public as a nature attraction.
The city will work with the Watershed Conservation Resource Center and buy about 98 acres east of Dead Horse Mountain Road, south of Huntsville Road. The agreement will have the city put in $150,000 toward the $250,000 asking price, plus half of the closing costs, to raise the total to $160,000.
In turn, the resource center will put in $100,000 and the other half of the closing costs.
The Fayetteville City Council has approved the project.
The late developer Gary Combs once owned the property, but ownership has since been turned over to a bank. The goal is to preserve the site under a conservation easement and restore the stream banks leading to the Beaver Lake watershed, the region's drinking water supply.
A trail along the west fork of the White River also is proposed, with a canoe and kayak access point and a bird and butterfly park. The land sits in a flood plain and most of it is unsuitable for building, according to the center's assessment.
The resource center will take charge of the restoration work, as it has done for a number of spots in Northwest Arkansas. Other projects that the center has taken on in the city include the municipal airport, Noland Wastewater Treatment Plant and Kessler Mountain Regional Park.
Metro on 04/25/2019