The State of Georgia has approved a $1.95 million grant for Carroll County to assist in acquiring 429 acres of undeveloped land and almost double the size of the adjacent McIntosh Reserve.
McIntosh Reserve is a 527-acre park located in Carroll County along the Chattahoochee River, and diagonal from Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Coweta County. By linking McIntosh Reserve to Chattahoochee Bend State Park, the acquisition will create a contiguous 3,000-acre greenspace at the southern terminus of the Chattahoochee RiverLands, a proposed 100-mile linear park through the heart of one of America’s largest metro regions.
“We are extremely grateful to have this grant approved and for our strong collaboration with Carroll County,” said George Dusenbury, Georgia State Director at Trust for Public Land. “This is just the most recent investment that the state has made in the Chattahoochee RiverLands, support that already amounted to more than $10 million. Chattahoochee RiverLands will be metro Atlanta’s defining public space, stretching across 19 cities and seven counties. This network of parks and trails will bring people to the water’s edge and spark a lifelong love of the river.”
Trust for Public Land, in collaboration with more than 80 organizations in metro Atlanta, has laid the groundwork for the expansive Chattahoochee RiverLands project. McIntosh Reserve has been identified as the last take-out point for the 48-mile RiverLands Camp+Paddle Trail, which will extend south from Atlanta once complete.
The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program and the state Department of Natural Resources approved the grant in January. It was then voted on by the Senate and House Appropriation Committees.
“This year’s projects selected to move forward into the second phase of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program review will build on the program’s successes,” said Commissioner of Natural Resources Mark Williams. “I am thrilled to see so many of our partners working…
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