Harris Ridge Now Forever Under State Protection
by Steve Ward, Park Manager
Save Harris Ridge was our push since 2010 in an effort to preserve a beautiful 37-acre tract along the southeastern boundary of the natural area. What took a culmination of more than nine years, has been successfully placed under state protection forever!
The acquisition of this ridgetop became a perfect example of how acquiring land, even in less-than-ideal economic times, can be done by working together—with landowners who wanted to see this property protected, with a very focused, hard-working friends group and staff; and, most important, with our neighbors, visitors, individual donors and foundations to successfully accomplish this project.
Over the course of one year, Radnor staff and FORL board members led hikes ranging from 1½ to 2½ hours to Harris Ridge in an effort to educate visitors and gain momentum on our efforts to raise $1 million toward protecting this property forever. The theory was simple: Get people there, and they will “get it.” And they did. After 44 scheduled hikes with visitors, donors and groups, the project snowballed, allowing us to close on the property well ahead of our six-year scheduled time frame.
It takes a team. Special thanks to:
- The Harris family
- Radnor Lake support staff
- Friends of Radnor Lake
- The State of Tennessee
- Our donors and supporters
Thank you for your support of this project and for your efforts at Radnor Lake.
What’s next? Our plan is to do all of this again in the near future and to continue to save the last remaining parcels of land in our efforts to protect Radnor Lake.