By Associated Press - Saturday, October 31, 2020

ATLANTA (AP) - A new wildlife management area in Georgia is a step closer to fruition.

The Georgia Board of Natural Resources voted Tuesday to acquire nearly 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) of the historic Cabin Bluff property in Camden County for designation as a state wildlife management area, The Savannah Morning News reported.

The Nature Conservancy and the Open Space Institute bought the property in 2018 along with an adjacent tract of nearly 3,200 (1,294 hectares) acres that will become a retreat for a church congregation based in Jacksonville, Florida, the newspaper reported.

Cabin Bluff includes salt marshes, tidal creeks and longleaf pine woodlands located across the Intracoastal Waterway from the Cumberland Island National Seashore. It serves as habitat for threatened and endangered species including the gopher tortoise, wood stork and eastern indigo snake.

“An incredible array of native species will continue to call the property and its waters home, and the public will have more access to the land than ever in its history,” said Kim Elliman, president and CEO of the Open Space Institute.

Several government agencies and nonprofits chipped in the $11 million purchase price of the portion of the property due to become a wildlife management area. The wildlife management area also will be set aside for recreational activities including fishing, hunting, kayaking, wildlife viewing and nature photography. The land also will serve as a buffer to the adjacent Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

The state will officially assume ownership of the land next year.

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