By Jeff Niese

FAYETTEVILLE -- Sierra Club member Jim Bemis fires up his camcorder during a recent hike through a patch of woods on the east side of Mount Sequoyah.

He hopes the footage does not become a historical piece -- a last reminder of what an old forest looked like in Fayetteville.

"They should not do anything to that mountain. They should keep that mountain as an example for my grandchildren and others. It's worth it," Bemis said about the woods.

Bemis and other environmentalists are worried that the land -- 70 acres of oak, hickory and dozens of other plant species -- is in danger of being developed.

Owned by the Mount Sequoyah Program Center at 150 N.W. Skyline Drive, the property is east of the retreat center and west of Happy Hollow Road. The retreat is atop Mount Sequoyah, the tallest mountain in town.

The land was appraised earlier this summer at $1.3 million. The center's 40-member board of trustees will meet in December to vote on whether to sell it.

"It's an asset we don't really see a future use for," Charles Wallace, president of the center, said. "We're assessing what's the best use of funds to us; ($1.3 million) would go a long way in doing something around here."

The land is part of 400 acres of property given to the United Methodist Church in 1922 in a bidding war that brought the retreat to the top of Mount Sequoyah.

"It was a gift with strings attached," said Duane Woltjen, who is forming a group called the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association.

Since it was built, the center on top of Mount Sequoyah has brought an untold number of people to Fayetteville, he said.

Woltjen spoke to members of the Sierra Club last week about finding a solution that will keep the land in its current state with crisscrossing trails, plants and trees.

Sierra Club member Jeff Erf has been researching the deal that brought the retreat to Fayetteville. The city's 7,500 residents dedicated part of their property taxes to a trust that produced about $115,000 to lure the church's retreat to Fayetteville, he said.

The money paid for the land, building a road to the mountain, and provided water, sewer and other utilities, he said.

The retreat has undergone a couple of changes over the years. It was called the Western Methodist Assembly when it opened in 1923. Later, the name changed to Mount Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center.

In recent years, the name was changed to Mount Sequoyah Program Center.

Wallace described the center as a mini-college that offers an assortment of training programs. There are 52 buildings, including meeting rooms, classrooms and a cafeteria on the 30-acre campus. The campus can hold 350 residents.

The staff at the center produces about 20 programs through the year. Methodist-affiliated groups produce another five, and not-for-profit groups produce about 30, he said.

Woltjen said the center is looking to sell the undeveloped land to pay off debt. Wallace confirmed that the center has some indebtedness but "is not broke."

"We are a long way from that. We could go on forever. We could go on better if we had a rearrangement of assets," Wallace said.

Part of Woltjen's meeting with the Sierra Club was to explore options of private fund-raising to buy the land. Some members scoffed, saying they didn't like the idea of the public buying back land it gave away, seemingly free of charge.

Others said that, once a group buys land for preservation purposes, they can forget about getting land donated in the future.

"They are not adversaries," Woltjen said of the center's trustees. "At this stage, we need them on our side."

Saturday, Bemis, Erf and Melissa Terry of the Sierra Club headed into the woods to see what was there.

Five minutes into the hike, the group came across an old decaying pickup. Piles of cans, tires and a refrigerator found later on the hike indicate the land has been used as a dump.

The members, however, were impressed by the property.

"This is nice," Erf said. "I think this is worth saving, definitely."

Red and white oaks tower in the woods. At least one red oak reaches more than 100 feet into the sky and has a trunk of about 8 feet in circumference.

"It's obviously a mature forest and has been so for many years," said Terry, a City Council candidate this year.

Environmentalists have speculated that some of the trees in the forest could be 200 years old.

But the signs of development are everywhere nearby.

While zigzagging up the trail, the backs of other houses often come into view. The buzzing of a saw east of the woods, where a new development is being built, could be heard. This land is also west of an apartment complex, The Cliffs.

With the city's population expanding and developing, land like this is disappearing in Fayetteville, the three said.

"This forest is such an asset for the Assembly. It's a benefit for everyone to maintain it as it is," Terry said.

Terry said the next step for the club will be contacting university officials to get a more accurate date on the age of the forest. She will also contact the city and find out how the land is affected by the city's tree-preservation ordinance.

"You don't have to do anything but walk it to see it should be kept as it is," Bemis added.

Wallace said he hopes the center and the city can continue to have a good working relationship, regardless of what the trustees decide in December.

"If they decide to sell the land, I hope it creates a win-win (situation)," he said. "We get the revenue, and the land gets in the hands of the folks who will use it wisely."

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