Days before the deadline, donors have raised funds to buy and preserve 91 acres along one of the Southeast’s last free-flowing rivers in Jackson County.

The Land Trust of North Alabama announced today it has raised the required $223,000 to buy the land along the Paint Rock River, one of the Southeast’s last free-flowing rivers. Land Trust Executive Director Marie Bostick said 182 donors answered a public appeal to reach the goal days short of its Nov. 1 deadline. The property is located off U.S. 72 between the town of Paint Rock and the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge.

The price was below what the land including river frontage could have brought on the market, the Land Trust has said, and it is “incredibly important in terms of conservation” with around 50 state- or federally-listed species within the river and its tributaries.

“As our region experiences growth, it is critical that we recognize spaces in need of protection and take action,” Bostick said Friday. “Our community has once again stepped up at the moment we needed them, and we are incredibly grateful for their foresight and support.”

The property is mainly lowland farmland and has been part of a Conservation Reserve Program. Trees have been preserved or planted along the river to buffer erosion and runoff. The Land Trust said it will “maintain this buffer and agricultural use” for now. Long-term plans call for wetland restoration to return the land to a natural bottomland hardwood forest.

Agricultural use will eventually stop to enhance wildlife habitat and protection of the river corridor. And as conservation property, it will not be open to the public.

The growth Bostick referred to is the influx of people into the Huntsville metro area for jobs in its defense, space, technology and automotive industries and the businesses that serve those families. Conservationists and Alabama leaders have been working to preserve land around the city. In one large purchase in 2012, for example, the state bought the 11,364-acre Jacobs Mountain in next door Jackson County for $9.3 million with help from a $3 million federal grant and $1 million raised privately by the Nature Conservancy of Alabama.

The Land Trust itself is a nonprofit dedicated to preservation in 10 North Alabama counties. It manages 70-plus miles of free public trails on eight public nature preserves. It also provides environmental education programs with guided tours.