Jimmy Carter’s Georgia farm to open to the public: ‘This land shaped him and his legacy’

The Conservation Fund has acquired Jimmy Carter’s family farm near Plains, Georgia, and plans to open it for public recreation from 2027. The land is expected to pass to Georgia’s natural resources department in 2028, protecting a place closely linked to Carter’s lifelong interest in conservation.

The farm covers about 2,458 acres and is planned to become part of the Lanahassee Creek wildlife management area, bringing it to nearly 7,000 acres. Carter grew up working and exploring the property, later returning to hunt, fish and walk there; his conservation record included protecting more than 104 million acres in Alaska and establishing 39 national park units. The farm also contains longleaf pine habitat and creeks home to rare freshwater mussels.