Save Markham Hill
The Friends of Markham Hill group is trying to save the historic, wooded, natural habitat of 144 acres of Markham Hill from development and make it a nature and wildlife preserve under a conservation easement with the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust. Markham Hill is part of and adjacent to an historic low-density neighborhood in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The privately-owned land was in the Pratt family since 1900 until recently when an out-of-town owner (hiding under various names) obtained it during a bankruptcy trial. They hired a local developer, Specialized Real Estate Group, who convinced the city officials of Fayetteville to rezone the 144 acres as a high-density residential and commercial area.
This fundraiser is to gather funds to help accomplish our goals of saving Markham Hill from development and making it a nature and wildlife preserve under a conservation easement. Specifically, the money will help pay for:
(1) Lawyer fees to appeal the Fayetteville City Council's vote to rezone the 144 acres. We would like the land returned to its original zoning which protects over half the land from any development whatsoever and limits development on the other half to low-density. We hope that if the owner is unable to do the extensive development they want, they will be willing to sell the land at a reasonable price to the City of Fayetteville, a conservationist, or a conservation group so that it can be permanently protected as a nature and wildlife preserve under a conservation easement. [Update: We lost the appeal on August 7, 2019.]
(2) Any other lawyer fees required to reach our above stated goals for Markham Hill.
(3) Making the 144 acres a conservation easement so it can be permanently protected, whether public or private land.
(4) Expenses such as banners, flyers, equipment, booth space, etc. needed for spreading the word about our effort to save Markham Hill.
Thank you so much for your interest and help for our cause to save this beautiful urban forest and historic land.
Sincerely,
Lisa Orton and Robert Karas
Administrators of
Friends of Markham Hill (Facebook group),
Save Markham Hill petition on change.org,
and this GoFundMe effort
P.S. Please join our Facebook group to view photos of Markham Hill, read interesting history about the land, and view updates on our efforts. Also, please read and sign our petition on change.org. Thank you so much!
Friends of Markham Hill Facebook group