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As part of the drive to save it, four University of Tennessee students have given Camp Montvale the land-management equivalent of a physical.

The students, Amber Dunn, Ryan Hintz, Mary Williams and Brittany Hildreth, developed a land-management plan and resource survey for the 400-acre-plus property for a senior-level land-management planning class in the UT Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries program.

Billy Minser and Larry Tankersley, both of Blount County, taught the course.

"The students did an outstanding job on a fairly complex and challenging project," said Minser, who is also a member of the Friends of Camp Montvale Board of Directors. "They learned a lot, and the Friends of Camp Montvale are appreciative for their efforts.

"The plan provides good baseline data and ideas for management for getting the camp back on its feet."

Harmony Property Group purchased the Camp Montvale property in December 2006 and is allowing the Friends of Camp Montvale the chance to operate a youth camp on the site.

In 2006, the East Tennessee YMCA closed the camp which it had operated since 1948.

The study gave the students a chance to pull together the diverse skills taught in their classes.

"It was a way to synthesize everything we had learned," Dunn said.

Dunn, who graduated from UT on Thursday, was impressed with Camp Montvale.

"It's a really neat place," she said. "I hope they're able to keep it as it is. There are not a whole lot of places in the area that have not been touched by development."

Hintz agreed.

"It's a beautiful place," he said. "What the Friends of Camp Montvale is trying to do needs to be done in more areas."

The land management plan suggests that, in addition to serving as summer camp for youth, the property could offer environmental education activities for local schools, provide camping options for church groups and include self-guided nature trails.

The plan also called for further study in consideration of rebuilding Lake Lanier, built on the property in 1913. Options for a conference center and an environmental education facility were also presented, according to Minser.

"We hope to take the camp to a new level of service to the community," he said. "At the same time, we intend to ensure that the wild and scenic nature of the camp and Chilhowee Mountain are protected well into the future."

The production of the plan is very timely, Minser said.

"We are on the verge of a campaign seeking public support in getting the camp back on its feet and getting the kids back to using it," he said. "That is our number one objective."

More information about the Friends of Camp Montvale's fund-raising efforts can be found online at: campmontvale.org.