S. Ind. land trust buys 600 acres in Brown County

NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana land trust has purchased 600 acres of rugged woodlands near Brown County's popular tourist destination in Nashville.

The Bloomington-based Sycamore Land Trust says the nearly one mile square plot east of Nashville was nearly sold in the 1980s to developers who wanted to turn it into a large subdivision. But a group of investors bought it instead and the land has remained essentially untouched.

Sycamore Executive Director Christian Freitag says his group made the purchase thanks to "a generous bargain sale by the owners" and a grant from the Laura Hare Charitable Trust. He says the project "is one of our biggest ever and helps protect the rugged natural habitat that so many critters need and people enjoy."

The land trust conserves about 8,000 acres in Indiana.