Davis Announces $3.5 Million for Walls of Jericho ProjectNovember 20, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis announced that H.R. 4818, the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill, contained $3.5 million for the acquisition of the Walls of Jericho tract.

"The projects in this bill will do a lot for the Fourth Congressional District and the entire state. The projects will help create jobs, improve local infrastructure, fund our anti-drug forces, increase educational and health care opportunities, and protect some of Tennessee's most beautiful natural areas," said Davis.

The 9,430 acre tract is located in Franklin County and is part of 48,000 acres of inter-connected hardwood forest in Tennessee and Alabama. This project will help provide public access for visitors to the Walls of Jericho, and will protect the habitat for migratory birds as well as rare and endangered terrestrial and freshwater species. The forest is also a site of Paint Rock River headwaters. The river is the most biologically diverse river of its size in the United States.

The funding is part of the Forest Legacy program and the project was a top priority for both the Tennessee and U.S. Forest Service.