The Arc of Appalachia’s 2026-2027 Land Campaign is coming together!
Deeper information is still being developed for the listed land pursuits. If the title is underlined, more info is already available - just click and view.
New River Wilderness - Raleigh Co, WV
next to New River Gorge National Park
How often does this happen? Remarkably, eight large parcels of land immediately adjacent to one of the East’s most spectacular National Parks were heading to auction on June 30, 2026. We are talking nearly 2800 acres of cliffs, gorges, deep forests, and whitewater creeks in the New River Watershed. The National Park Service wanted them protected, but they lay outside the park’s legislated boundaries. Only a citizen-funded effort could save these iconic Appalachian landscapes, and only if the Arc and its supporters could move very quickly. HERE’S THE TALE OF HOW WE BOUGHT 5 OF THE 8 PARCELS!
Arbutus Run is a critically important 120-acre component of a 231-acre family legacy project in Hocking Hills that will protect the headwaters and surrounding natural areas of the historic Neotoma Valley, once the home of the famous naturalist, Edward Thomas that is now part of Clear Creek Metro Park. The property protects immense black hand sandstone rock outcrops, a stunning rock shelter, and habitat for over 100 species of breeding birds that nest in the region annually. Click here for deeper information.
231 acres next to Clear Creek Metro Park
in Hocking County, OH
KILLBUCK SWAMP EXPANSION
186 acres in 2 acquisitions - Holmes Co, OH
Black Creek Swamp & Bowfin Bottoms
Killbuck Swamp Preserve is centered in the largest wetlands in interior Ohio, second in size only to the marshes of Lake Erie. The preserve was founded in 2021 and 2022 with two phases of expansion that brought the swamp to 350 acres. Thanks to Clean Ohio grants, we are now increasing the preserve to 538 acres, and need to raise private funds for the 25% match. Two H2Ohio restoration grants have also been awarded. The drain tiles are being removed, and the WATER IS RISING!! Killbuck is home to breeding sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans!
50 ACRES ON THE GAULEY
Ensuring Protection & Access to
Five Miles on the Gauley
What an opportunity! The 1,336-acre Five Miles on the Gauley project is a landlocked parcel, accessible only by an easement over private property. Just this summer, that 50 acres of land came up for sale. Being level terrain, it could someday be divided into multiple cabin tracts, and if it did, we would lose the remote wilderness setting of Five Miles, and much of its protection. We are now in signed contract! The acquisition will give us dedicated road access for the first time, and a place to build a parking lot right at the road entrance so that we can hold special events and share this special place with more people.
Beaver Wetlands is the Arc’s first, but not our last, pursuit in Gallia County, OH, a c0unty that borders the Ohio River. Dirty Face Creek is a tributary of Symmes, a creek that drains directly into the Ohio River. The parcel borders Wayne National Forest and has natural wetlands lining both sides of Dirty Face. This region on the Jackson/Gallia county line is WET, and one of the best places in Ohio for wetlands restoration projects. The creek is an absolute magnet for beaver. Their dams are common on Dirty Face, slowing down the rate of flow, deepening the water, and contributing to high wildlife biodiversity.
Protecting legendary Dirty Face Creek
86 acres in Gallia County, OH
A crown jewel among our Eastern Rivers
1,336 acres in Nicholas County, WV
How often do properties this stunning and this large come along for sale? The Gauley River is mountain-born, its origins in the highlands of the 919,000-acre Monongahela National Forest. Five miles of the Gauley, along with one mile of Big Beaver Creek, carve out deep valleys shrouded with hemlocks and rhododendrons. This property lies immediately upstream of Summersville Lake in a peaceful, rarely visited portion of the river. Downstream from Summersville Lake, the Gauley provides one of the world’s most beloved white-water adventures in the 24-mile span of the National Recreation Area. Click here for Deeper information.
Our dream is to build a one-mile preservation corridor between these two large, pre-existing conservation blocks. Emerald Forest project is critically placed to further our progress! The property boasts pristine, sand-bottomed streams, beaver ponds, striking rock formations, extensive skunk cabbage wetlands, and dense colonies of wet-loving cinnamon ferns. We are enchanted with the salamander diversity on this VERY wet property and the profusion of ferns covering every nook and cranny. Click here for deeper information.
Connecting Clear Creek w/Hocking Hills
210 Acres, 2 acquisitions - Hocking County, OH
The protection of Welkin Ring, despite its relatively small size among Arc holdings, will represent a major conservation victory once it is funded. The site has allured generations of botanists because of its impressive, ultra-rare flora and exceptionally scenic sandstone cliffs. Welkin Ring is one of the most beautiful we have ever laid eyes on. It is dominated by a 200-foot-high sandstone-knobbed pinnacle that is crowned with Virginia pines that form a bower above colonies of wild blueberries. Click here for deeper information.
A rare sandstone-bluff community
45 Acres in Jackson County, OH
RED STONE FARM WETLANDS
Just a few miles south of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, an impressively towering swamp forest known as ‘Beechflats’ once grew. With the demise of the beaver and the invention of drain tile, however, Beechflats literally disappeared off the face of the earth. Today, it exists only as a passing mention in the older local history books. Until, that is, someone dared the impossible dream of breathing Beechflats back to life. The result was a wildly successful wetlands restoration project. Then, suddenly, the dream got a whole lot bigger!
RECENTLY COMPLETED CAMPAIGNS
1,200 Acres - COMPLETED!
Greenbrier County, WV
at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary - COMPLETED! Highland County, OH
5 Acres - COMPLETED!
Scioto County, OH
Cliff Run- Phase 2 & 3
300 Acres - COMPLETED!
Ross County, OH
60 Acres - COMPLETED!
Hocking County, OH
110 Acres - COMPLETED!
Carter County, KY
8 Acres - COMPLETED!
Highland County, OH
468 more acres - COMPLETED!
Pike Co, OH