A Rare Forest Tract Supporting Economic, Environmental and Community Vitality

When over 5,000 acres of this bottomland forest came on the market in west Tennessee’s fastest-growing county, The Conservation Fund acted to protect it. The Ames property, just 40 minutes east of Memphis, is one of the few remaining large, intact forest blocks in an area under intense development pressure.

Ames has one the finest examples of bottomland hardwood forests in all of Tennessee. Its white oak stands offer the right mix of trees to support ongoing research, white oak restoration and sustainability efforts locally and across the country.

In addition to providing white oak to several local mills or cooperages that make barrel staves for Tennessee bourbon producers, keeping the forest intact protects 30 miles of streams, over 1,500 acres of wetland and the Memphis Sand Aquifer — a critical drinking water supply for 2.8 million people. It also opens new public recreation access, protects endangered archaeological and historical sites, and sustains critical habitat for wildlife.

Creating a New State Forest

By securing the property before it could be sold to private developers, The Conservation Fund opened the way for creation of a new State Forest along the Wolf River. Once the woodland is transferred to Tennessee’s Division of Forestry, it will add to 52,000 acres of state, federal and private conserved lands across the Wolf watershed in two states.

The conservation effort will benefit everyone: bird and fish species that depend on the forest and streams, hunters and fishermen, researchers studying the 45 archaeological sites in the area — many related to the enslaved people who lived on the region’s plantations before the Civil War, communities in the Memphis metro area and beyond that need clean drinking water and climate resilience.

And, of course, it will remain a source of cherished forestland for the bourbon producers sustaining an American tradition.