 The Nature Conservancy became concerned about overdevelopment in 1978 and launched its largest fundraising project to that date . Collecting over $ 500 @,@ 000 they purchased 1 @,@ 881 acres ( 761 ha ) of Lower Table Rock , creating the Lower Table Rock Preserve . Projects include prescribed burning and invasive species removal . In 1981 , the Youth Conservation Corps constructed the Upper Table Rock Trail . A year later , through the efforts of John Ifft , the Lower Table Rock Trail was constructed ; the first 400 feet ( 120 m ) were built by a Central Point Boy Scout troop , and the rest was built by the Oregon Department of Forestry . In 1984 , the Table Rocks were designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the Bureau of Land Management . In May 2009 , The Nature Conservancy bought another 1 @,@ 710 acres ( 690 ha ) of land on the Table Rocks for $ 3 @.@ 9 million , ending private ownership of the rocks . 
