CAIRO — Grady County is formalizing its relationship with Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve following a vote by the Grady County Board of Commissioners.

Commissioners voted to sign onto an agreement that will bring the Wolf Creek Trout Lily Advisory Board under the umbrella of the county. The board was originally organized in October 2017 to facilitate citizen involvement at Wolf Creek Preserve.

The agreement states that the new set up will be “for the limited purposes of facilitating scientific studies, removing invasive exotic plants, improving safe public access by means of improved or new walking trails, and guiding public and private groups of citizens through the preserve as part of an environmental education program” developed by the advisory board.

Wolf Creek volunteer Margaret Tyson thanked the commissioners for their faith in the advisory board, which she said will largely consist of environmental specialists.

“It’s mainly botanists and naturalists and folks that really know their stuff,” she said.

Tyson said part of the reason the decision was made to formalize the relationship between the advisory board and Grady County was to simplify communication and better advertise their mission.

Established in 2009, the 140-acre Wolf Creek Preserve is owned by Grady County and is run through private donations and a grant from the Georgia Land Conservation Program.

The preserve is home to tens of millions of rare yellow and maroon dimpled trout lilies, typically found in the Appalachian Mountains. The preserve is the largest extent of the trout lilies known anywhere in the word. Several other rare plants, such as thousands of maroon spotted trillium, are also protected at the preserve.