DAHLONEGA, Ga. – A large tract of land near the Southern end of the Appalachian Trail has been saved from development, thanks to an Atlanta family that agreed to sell 356 acres to conservationists instead of developers.

“This is one of the most important vistas on the trail,” said Jerry Seabolt, president of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, which celebrated the acquisition Monday.

The U.S. Forest Service has acquired the land just west of Springer Mountain, the starting point for the famous trail that runs 2,174 miles north to Maine.

About 3,000 people begin from that spot each spring, attempting to hike the entire trail. Thousands more make the 8-mile climb up Springer as a day hike.

The land, called the Glover-Little tract, has been marked as a conservation priority for 30 years, said Jim Kidd, land acquisition manager for the Chattahoochee National Forest.

“It was under dire threat to be developed,” he told The Times of Gainesville, Ga. “It had been the private estate of an Atlanta family for about 100 years, basically used for hunting and camping. When the original owner died, it was divided among a number of family members, some of whom wanted it developed.”

Working with conservationists, one family member, A.D. Little, agreed to buy out the other owners, then sold the property to the Forest Service. The money came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which collects fees from companies that drill offshore for oil and gas.

The Forest Service paid $1.64 million, and the Georgia Land Trust Service Center chipped in $61,000.