The Western Virginia Land Trust announced Wednesday the sale of two tracts of forest, totaling 65 acres, on the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County to the National Park Service.

The sale culminates a project that began 18 months ago when the land trust bought the first tract. Roger Holnback, executive director of the land trust, said the purchase was made with money from the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust with the ultimate intention of selling the land to the park service. The Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy also assisted in the project.

"We were very pleased with the timely purchase by the National Park Service of these two properties, as we anticipated it might take up to three years for them to secure the necessary funding," Holnback said in a news release. "We're proud to act as intermediaries in this transaction and help ensure that a very visible part of Sharp Top Mountain remains undeveloped and enjoyed by the public."

The property is predominantly mature hardwood forest and home to a half-mile stretch of Little Stony Creek. It is located near Virginia 43, a state scenic byway. The acreage sold for $195,000, most of which will be returned to the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust. The Western Virginia Land Trust, a Roanoke-based nonprofit land conservation organization, received a small amount in holding fees to cover the costs of property taxes and associated attorney fees. David Perry, an employee of the land trust, said the amount was less than 1 percent of the sale price.

Preston and Mattie Edwards purchased 52 acres in 2001 to prevent encroaching development from climbing Sharp Top Mountain. The couple, who have since moved to Galax, turned to the land trust in search of a way to permanently protect the land.

Bedford sold an adjacent 13-acre tract to the land trust in 2006. The property, which had been in the city's possession for more than a century, was the most highly elevated privately owned tract on Sharp Top. It was the former site of the Horsley Mill, a grist mill.

The Western Virginia Land Trust has helped conserve about 21,000 acres in the western part of the state since 1996.

On the Net: westernvirginialandtrust.org