Archive for the ‘Conservation Trust for North Carolina’ Category

Mount Lyn Lowry tract purchased by CTNC

Thursday, July 29th, 2010
A 35-acre tract of forested land next to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Browning Knob has recently been purchased to safeguard its scenic views and wildlife habitat.

The Mount Lyn Lowry property, adjacent to the Parkway on the Jackson-Haywood County line near Waterrock Knob (between Mileposts 449 and 450), was purchased by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina with funds from private donors.

CTNC plans to convey the tract to the National Park Service for inclusion in the boundaries of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"The Mount Lyn Lowry property is small in size, but large in importance to the region’s wildlife habitat and spectacular natural beauty,” CTNC executive director Reid Wilson said. “Its location next to the Parkway and less than six miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park makes it another link in a critical chain of protected lands and waterways in this area.”

To read more, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in CTNC, Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Mount Lyn Lowry, blue ridge parkway, purchased, tract | Comments Off

WNC man donates land to Blue Ridge Parkway

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
A western North Carolina man who remembers seeing the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway is donating and selling land he owns to help expand its protected landscape.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina announced yesterday that Joe Arrington has donated a 46-acre parcel of land in Haywood County. In April, he sold a 64-acre tract to the same group.

The combined tract, called Richland Creek Headwaters, is adjacent to the Parkway in Haywood County, near Milepost 440. It's part of a larger piece of land bought by Mr. Arrington's family in 1936, before Parkway construction reached the area. Thirty of the family's 188 acres were condemned and used for the road project.

Richland Creek Headwaters provides a spectacular backdrop for Blue Ridge Parkway travelers – especially from the Waynesville and Saunook overlooks – near the boundary of Jackson and Haywood counties in the Great Balsam Mountains.

CTNC plans to convey the combined property to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Parkway's boundary, possibly by the time the Parkway marks its 75th anniversary in September.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Joe Arrington, Richland Creek Headwaters, blue ridge parkway, donates | Comments Off

Cliffs gives $10K for Blue Ridge Parkway protection

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
The Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting today that Cliffs Communities has recently donated $10,000 to help protect views along the Blue Ridge Parkway on a 48-acre tract of land located on the borders of Surry and Allegheny counties.

The gift was made to the Blue Ridge Forever Coalition which will give a boost to the agency's five-year campaign to protect 50,000 acres in Western North Carolina by the end of 2010.

The Cliffs' donation was a contribution to the $125,000 Roaring Forks Headwaters project, which will preserve land adjacent to the parkway that contains the headwaters of the Fisher River.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina, one of 10 land trusts that partners with Blue Ridge Forever, bought the Roaring Forks tract from a Georgia man who agreed to sell it at a steep discount to ensure it would be protected.

The Cliffs' gift will help make it possible for CTNC to transfer the property to the National Park Service.

The property is near the 3,400-acre Saddle Mountain Wilderness Area and Cumberland Knob National Recreation Area. It adjoins the parkway by connecting with a 201-acre property that was protected by CTNC in 2007.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Blue Ridge Forever Coalition, Cliffs Communities, Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Cumberland Knob National Recreation Area, Roaring Forks, Saddle Mountain Wilderness Area, blue ridge parkway | Comments Off

Bills would add 50,000 acres to Blue Ridge Parkway

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The Charlotte Observer is reporting that federal legislators in both North Carolina and Virginia are seeking federal money to buy up to 50,000 acres along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr from North Carolina will join Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner from Virginia, in seeking $75 million over five years to buy high-priority land around the parkway. Reps. Heath Shuler and David Price of North Carolina and Reps. Rick Boucher and Tom Perriello will introduce a companion bill in the House as well.

Park supporters have grown increasingly concerned in recent years that mountain-top vacation homes and other developments are obscuring views from the historic road.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina, a nonprofit group that has worked to protect the parkway’s corridor, proposed the legislation.




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Jim Webb, Kay Hagan, Mark Warner, North Carolina, Richard Burr, Senators, blue ridge parkway, virginia | Comments Off