By Anthony Childress

FAYETTEVILLE -- Vowing to stand with Mayor Dan Coody in seeking to preserve 70 acres of wooded land on Mount Sequoyah, a group of local residents has joined forces to protect the city's greenspace and raise awareness of its cause.

On Monday afternoon, the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association announced its plans on the steps of the City Administration Building, vowing to keep the community from losing its "special natural character."

The association was incorporated Dec. 11 and has since filed an Internal Revenue Service application to gain tax-exempt status.

Pete Heinzelman, the group's chairman, said preservation efforts are intended to maintain the city's commitment to greenspace for years to come.

"It's not just about Mount Sequoyah but many other natural areas," Heinzelman said. "In the next five or 10 years, all these areas could be lost with our continued growth. Once they're lost, they're lost forever. But once they're saved, they're saved forever.

"We have to recognize they could be gone and what that means to the quality of life here."

The organization's first conservation campaign is being conducted alongside the city to raise private funds for purchasing 70 acres on Mount Sequoyah's east side from the United Methodist Mount Sequoyah Assembly Board of Directors. The land has been appraised for $1.3 million.

Heinzelman urged concerned residents to attend tonight's City Council meeting at 6:30 in the City Administration Building and voice their feelings about the potential land purchase.

The land in question contains oak, hickory and dozens of other plant species and is currently owned by the Mount Sequoyah Program Center at 150 N.W. Skyline Drive. The center sits atop the mountain, the tallest in Fayetteville.

City officials, including Mayor Dan Coody and several aldermen, toured the site Saturday morning.

The mayor has been questioned by the council about pursuing the land for a variety of reasons, including Alderman Lioneld Jordan's complaint that his constituents on the city's west side want a new fire station built rather than acreage purchased for preservation.

A resolution will be presented tonight that would authorize Coody to negotiate a deal with the Methodist Assembly.

City Attorney Kit Williams has said any council action, at this point, would be simply to authorize the mayor to approach the assembly's board about the land purchase.

"Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association is committed to raising $300,000 or more over the next two to three years from private citizens, local groups and businesses who want to maintain Fayetteville's unique heritage and to pass it on," Heinzelman said.

"Additional funds will come from grant requests that members of our group will submit to foundations and government agencies that support conservation efforts."

To this point, the group has raised about $15,000 in unsolicited donations and plans to embark on a campaign to raise more money.

Heinzelman said the association hopes to assist the city in making a down payment on the acreage.

A membership meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Bailey Center at the Mount Sequoyah Center to elect officers. Guided tours of the acreage will begin at 2 p.m.

More information is available via the Internet at www.fayettevillenatural.org.

The land is part of 400 acres given to the United Methodist Church in 1922 in a bidding war that brought the retreat to the top of the mountain. The Methodist board voted to sell the 70 acres Dec. 6.

Heinzelman credited Coody for "providing leadership and being right there" to speak up for preservation of the land.

About the same time, the city's Trees and Trails Task Force decided to purchase three wooded parcels in south Fayetteville. Coody asked the group to use the remaining dollars in its coffers -- about $172,000 -- to make a down payment on the 70 acres.

Coody has also said the city could bring forward $465,000 by selling two parcels it owns:

• Thirty-two acres near the University of Arkansas Engineering South complex, which lies just east of U.S. 71, valued at $360,000.

• Two acres could be sold to Ozarks Electric Cooperative for $105,000.

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