Open space advocates are facing a time crunch to raise enough money to save a key parcel of land in Emigration Canyon.

Utah Open Lands has only 30 days to raise the remaining $330,000 needed to purchase a 190-acre portion of Perkins Flat before the group's chance to buy the land expires.

Salt Lake County leaders already chipped in $400,000 toward the $1.4 million purchase while another $400,000 grant is pending from the state's LeRay McAllister Fund. Private donors put up another $270,000, but that still leaves the group pushing to raise the final funds before a Sept. 19 deadline.

"I've never had to raise money this fast. It's definitely an intense time for us," said Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands. "We'll have to put down cash, hard solid money that puts us into the place of purchasing this."

A fund-raiser today in Park City also aims to bring in some cash for the Perkins Flat acquisition and other Utah Open Lands projects. If the group can't meet the money mark, Fisher said, they'll just have to walk away from the land, which is located two to three miles from the mouth of the canyon and owned by the MSI Corp.

That worst-case scenario would be devastating for Fisher, who views the land as a historical piece of property for Utahns because it was the campground for an advance scout group of Mormon pioneers in 1847.

"You can glimpse really a piece of history," she said. "It's an amazing, scenic open meadow and probably one of the last undeveloped meadows in Emigration Canyon."

The piece is particularly vulnerable, Fisher added, because much of it is flat land that has been eyed by developers for years. If the preservation push falls through, Fisher has no doubts it will be gobbled up quickly by a developer.

Before Utah Open Lands got the exclusive right to buy the land — at least for the next 30 days — Fisher said the area was already slated for a 24-unit residential development and some commercial building.

"As we continue to urbanize in the metropolitan area, this is one of those open spaces that is within close proximity to our ever-developing Wasatch Front," she said. "We need a balance if we're going to maintain quality of life. It really is a jewel."

Fisher is holding out hope that an application for $400,000 from the state's LeRay McAllister Fund will come through before the deadline, but at this point nothing is sure.

The LeRay McAllister Fund has 25 other applicants to choose from, adding up to about $11 million in requests. The fund only has $3 million to give this year.

John Bennett, project manager for the McAllister fund, said slicing up that pot among all the applicants requires visits to each of the sites before a final decision will be made in late September. And while fund managers will meet with Utah Open Lands next week, Bennett said it is unlikely they will have a final decision by the Perkins Flat deadline.