Athens-Clarke County and several environmental groups closed on a deal today to preserve 310 acres of undeveloped land along the Middle Oconee River as greenspace.

The parcel, which includes a mature hardwood forest, wetlands and 1.2 miles of the Middle Oconee, is located off Tallassee Road across from Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School. It will be used for hiking, boating and environmental education, said Stacy Funderburke of The Conservation Fund, which helped to put the deal together.

"It's a great location," Funderburke said. "In addition to being right across from the school, it's a really critical part of the river."

Athens-Clarke County spent $525,000 from its SPLOST greenspace acquisition program to buy 210 of the acres from former landowner Taylor Glover. The Conservation Fund obtained a grant from the Riverview Foundation to cover the rest. The Oconee River Land Trust holds a conservation easement on the property, protecting the wildlife and drinking water, and ACC will manage it. The county is developing a comprehensive ecological management plan and a site plan. Future plans include hiking trails and scenic vistas highlighting some of the site’s most beautiful features, according to The Conservation Fund.

 “This project is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to protect our quality of life and protect green space for future generations, which naturally contributes to enhanced economic opportunities,” Mayor Nancy Denson said in a news release. “The preservation of this land is a tremendous asset for our community and I commend all the people who worked to make it a reality."

The now publicly-owned forest is just north of 232 acres Glover still owns that are protected by an Athens Land Trust conservation easement, creating a 542-acre stretch of greenspace that can never be developed.

The Oconee River Land Trust holds easements on 3,900 acres in nine counties in Northeast Georgia.