The Lower Howard’s Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve is poised to grow by about 15 acres, thanks to a recent donation.

LHC board member Clare Sipple said the land was offered by Dan and Beth Hageman, a pair of retired police officers who are moving out of the state.

The property is on Old Stone Church Road and within walking distance of the church itself, she said.

“We think this is a really great opportunity,” Sipple said.

Preserve Manager Karis Pumphrey said the land is not contiguous to the preserve itself, but is close by and contains several stone fences.

The land, she said, is within the corridor of the preserve, which is owned by the Clark County Fiscal Court.

“It’s in the (management) plan if land becomes available … it would be added to the preserve,” she said.

Last week, the fiscal court voted unanimously to proceed with the needed paperwork to complete the donations.

Pumphrey said the property was being appraised last week.

The preserve was created in 2000 with the purchase of 240 acres in southwestern Clark County. Presently, it contains approximately 600 acres in in Clark County. The land contains a number of original stone fences and the remains of an early industrial settlement