Forever Wild in Huntsville

The board of Alabama's Forever Wild land trust meets in Huntsville at the museum of art on June 25, 2015. The board voted to take the first step toward adding 134 acres to Monte Sano State Park. (Lee Roop/lroop@al.com)

This preliminary map shows the proposed Dug Hill West addition to Monte Sano State Park at right in brown. Dug Hill Road is visible at the far right. Other tracts already added to the park by Forever Wild include the Big Cats Creek tract, Periwinkle Springs addition and the North Slope addition. All are shown in yellow. (Forever Wild)

Alabama's Forever Wild land trust board took the first step Thursday toward adding 134 acres to Monte Sano State Park. Meeting at the Huntsville Museum of Art, the land trust board voted unanimously to seek an appraisal of the property.

The land is on the side of Monte Sano facing Dug Hill Road. It belongs to the Land Trust of North Alabama, and Executive Director Marie Bostick said deal benefits the public three ways. "It increases the park's acreage, the land stays protected, and it allows the Land Trust to leverage the money to buy and preserve more land."

The mountainside tract is covered with oak and other trees, and the surrounding park is habitat to at least two protected plant species.

A second appraisal and another vote of the Forever Wild board would be required before the land purchase is approved.