Preservation in the News

The recently created Chimney Rock State Park will get a little bigger thanks to a recent grant by the state Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

A total of 513 acres will be added to the park. Chimney Rock, formerly a private attraction, was put up for sale earlier this year. The state stepped in and bought it, turning it into a state park. Just a year earlier, the state created the near-by Hickory Nut Gorge State Park, which has been wrapped into the new Chimney Rock State Park. The additional 513 acres include several nationally and regionally significant natural heritage sites as well as the headwaters of Falls Creek, which creates Hickory Nut Falls within the park.

Chimney Rock is one of 10 state parks that are either adding to their acreage or being created from scratch thanks to a recent round of state funding — namely $5.6 million from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, $5.34 million from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and $9.89 million in allocations from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. In all, 3,500 acres will be added to the state park system.

“The critical properties to be acquired by these grants will help develop new parks and greatly enhance established parks,” said Division Director Lewis Ledford.

Each of the three trust funds was established with its own mission. The Natural Heritage Trust Fund is dedicated to the preservation of important species and habitats while the Clean Water Management Trust Fund is concerned with protecting water quality and conservation of riparian areas. A portion of the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund is set aside for state parks land acquisition.

Some of the state parks to benefit include Elk Knob, South Mountains, Lake Norman, Eno River, Stone Mountain, Lake Waccamaw and Merchants Millpond state parks.