The National Trust is seeking £2.5 million to buy two mountains which bear down on west and north Belfast, and to open them for public access.
Black Mountain and its neighbour, Divis, have been closed to the public for the last 30 years to protect British army communications masts on top of Divis throughout the Troubles.
The approximately 1,500 acres, spanning both mountains, are owned by the Ministry of Defence. The trust needs about £1.5 million for the purchase and to make the area accessible, and another £1 million for a dowry to cover management of the lands in the future.
An application for a British lottery fund grant has been put in, together with a request for funding from the environment and heritage service, which is part of the Department of the Environment.
The Ministry of Defence is already committed to selling lands and other properties across the North.
These include Ebrington Barracks, Derry, and another installation in affluent south Belfast. They are to be developed for civilian use under the suspended Executive's ambitious investment initiative.
Well-known beauty spots have already been developed either by the National Trust or local trusts and are open for public access. These include the Mourne Mountains, Co Down, the Antrim Coast and Glens as well as the Giant's Causeway on the north coast.
Plans to have the Mournes redesignated as a National Park, the first in Northern Ireland, are being followed and the department may announce progress on this in the next few weeks.
Mr David Houston, National Trust area manager for Northern Ireland, said he hoped to have the Belfast mountains deal settled and the land transferred to the ownership of the trust by the end of the year. "We are very confident of success; I would be highly surprised if it was turned down. It is a very exciting project both in terms of preserving and enhancing a wonderful backdrop to the city and people's lives.
"It is a fantastic opportunity to provide countryside access to those areas of north and west Belfast which have limited access to the countryside." It was just a 10-minute drive from the city, he said, but "you could be in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, it seems so remote".
The 1,500 acres rise to the summit of Divis at 1,562 ft and Black Mountain at 1,275 ft. "There are the most fantastic views across five of the six counties of Northern Ireland, stunning views over Belfast Lough and over the city," Mr Houston said.
It is an area of almost untouched land, but with clear evidence of human habitation dating back more than 1,000 years. More recent building includes the odd pillbox put up by the army to guard the communications masts.
But far more interesting are the signs of human settlement back in Neolithic times, together with evidence from aerial photographs of prehistoric settlements in the form of hut circles.