Dixson Acquisition adds 1000+ acres to the Fiery Gizzard area of the Park
The Dixson Tract fills in a key piece of the "park puzzle" in the lower Fiery Gizzard Basin, adding over 1,000 acres to South Cumberland State Park.
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South Cumberland State Park continues to grow at a remarkable pace, as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced the addition of 1,058 acres to the park in the Fiery Gizzard in 2017. The acquisition from Dr. George and Ruby Dixson fills in a key piece of the “jigsaw puzzle” in the southern portion of the Fiery Gizzard gorge, conserves forestland and cove habitat, and will protect an additional segment of the Fiery Gizzard trail.
The newly acquired land is adjacent to the Fiery Gizzard trail, which has been ranked as one of the top 25 backpacking trails in the United States by Backpacker Magazine. Nearly 700,000 visitors enjoy South Cumberland State Park annually, with many attracted to the 12-mile Fiery Gizzard Trail. However, many large sections of the trail and surrounding bluffs remain in private ownership. The Conservation Fund, with transactional support from The Land Trust for Tennessee, purchased the 1,058 acres from the Dixsons in late 2016. The State of Tennessee, in turn, acquired the land from the Conservation Fund in 2017. The Dixson acquisition continues the State’s recent efforts to conserve land in the Fiery Gizzard basin. In March of 2017, South Cumberland State Park also celebrated the dedication of Denny Cove, a 685-acre climbing destination just a quarter mile from the newly acquired tract. |
