Fund Buys 2,458-Acre Carter Farm, Plans Public Access

The Conservation Fund has acquired about 2,458 acres of Carter family farmland and forest near Plains, Georgia, for $8.5 million, with plans to protect it and eventually transfer it to the state Department of Natural Resources. The property, where Jimmy Carter worked as a boy and later returned to hunt, fish and spend time with his family, is planned to become part of the neighboring Lanahassee Creek Wildlife Management Area, expanding it to nearly 7,000 acres. Once opened to the public, the land is expected to support hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation; the transfer is planned for 2028. Its longleaf pines and habitat for wildlife, including gopher tortoises, are among the conservation values cited. The sale does not include Carter’s boyhood home, which is part of the National Park Service-managed Jimmy Carter National Historical Park.