KERBY (AP) — No one knows for sure how Eight Dollar Mountain got its name, but some say it was because a gold nugget worth $8 was found near the southwest Oregon peak.

Things have gotten more expensive over the years, and this week the state Parks and Recreation Department bought 650 acres on the mountain for $849,000. The mountain is known for its rare plants and will be managed for its natural resource values.

“Sometimes we buy land to develop it for a recreation playland, and sometimes we just put the land into the state parks system to protect it; that’s where Eight Dollar Mountain falls,” said Chris Havel, an agency spokesman.

The parcel was previously owned by Oregon’s Division of State Lands. The State Land Board approved the sale Tuesday, with the proceeds deposited into a Common School Fund account for reinvestment in other real estate. Common School Fund lands were set aside at statehood to generate revenue, but the Eight Dollar site had never been logged because of its steep terrain.

Earnings from the fund are sent twice a year to Oregon’s K-12 public school districts. The Department of State Lands will retain ownership of a 2-acre parcel at the summit that is leased as a communication tower site.

“This property is special,” Gov. Ted Kulongoski, chairman of the land board, said in a statement. “Eight plant species were first discovered here, and it’s part of a larger area of public land listed in the state’s Register of Natural Heritage Resources because of its rich botanical profile.”

The sale is expected to close by the end of April. The parks department might eventually create primitive hiking trails on the land, said Tim Wood, the department director.