In 1990, Tennessee siblings planted 240 acres of former fields and pastures with loblolly pine...

An 852-acre family estate in Maury County, Tennessee, has been placed under permanent conservation, nearly three decades after a brother and sister began turning hundreds of acres of former farmland back into forest. According to The Land Trust for Tennessee, the property, known as the Sugg Property, was transferred directly to the organisation after original landowners Mary Ann Sugg and her brother John died. Their unconditional gift means the large landscape of pine forests, native woodlands, and open pastures will remain protected from commercial development forever. For local conservationists, the transfer completes a family legacy that began in the middle of the 20th century, when the property was a working dairy farm, and eventually turned into an important natural area.From Working Dairy Farm to Conservation HavenAccording to information from The Land Trust for Tennessee, the property's story began in 1955, when Mary Ann and John Sugg's father purchased the land and started a dairy farm that operated for many years. The siblings grew up on the property and developed a strong connection to its rolling hills and natural areas of Middle Tennessee. As farming needs changed, the ...