Tue, Jul. 20, 2004
Lake James Park Addition Likely
Assembly designates $20 million for parks; James is a top priority
Bruce Henderson, Staff Writer
Plans to expand Lake James State Park by up to 3,000 acres gained new momentum with a $20 million financing
plan state legislators approved last weekend.
The state parks are deep into negotiations with Crescent Resources, Duke Energy's development arm, for the
acreage on the lake's northern shore. If the sale goes forward, Lake James would have the largest waterfront park
in Western North Carolina.
The acreage covers 36 miles of the lake's 151 miles of shoreline. An existing, 600-acre park on the lake's southern
shore overflows with visitors in summer.
Expanding the park would complement the 4,900 acres that have been recently protected, or are under option, north
of the lake.
"It opens this lake up to the public forever, and it protects the natural resources, the streams feeding into the lake,"
said Susie Hamrick Jones of the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, based in Morganton. "It will not be a lake
for the few who can afford a waterfront lot."
Lake James, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte, is the cleanest and least developed of Duke's reservoirs on the
Catawba River. Keeping it that way has sparked controversy for several years.
In March, Burke County revised its new land-use rules for the lake's eastern end to settle a lawsuit by Crescent.
Crescent, which owns virtually all the land around the lake, plans to develop about 1,650 homes on the lake.
"We are pleased that the state has committed to funding a significant state park in Western North Carolina," Troy
Lucas, Crescent's Lake James project manager, said in a statement. "We are working diligently with the Division of
Parks and Recreation to finalize the agreement to expand Lake James State Park."
The money was included in a measure, ratified late Saturday hours before the legislature adjourned for the year. It
authorizes state agencies to borrow up to $468 million over the next two years. The bill assigns $20 million of that to
parks projects, including buying up to 6,000 acres for parks and gamelands.
The bill doesn't mention Lake James by name, but it's a top priority of the state parks division, spokesman Charlie
Peek said.
A spokesman for Gov. Mike Easley would say only that his staff is reviewing the debt bill. The governor has 30 days to
decide whether to veto it.
But Rep. Walter Church, a Burke County Democrat who championed the Lake James park, said the measure is within
the overall debt limit Easley had sought. He said it found bipartisan support.
If the purchase goes through, a master plan prepared with public input would determine what amenities the expanded
park would provide, Peek said.A visitor's center, trails, camping and boating facilities are likely.
The U.S. Forest Service added about 3,500 acres north of Lake James to the Pisgah National Forest in 2002 and 2003.
Foothills Conservancy is trying to raise $3.25 million for a separate purchase from Crescent of 1,425 acres on the east
side of the Linville River, which flows through the Linville Gorge wilderness into the lake. The property would likely become
state gamelands.
"There are few places on the whole of the East Coast that has something akin to the Linville Gorge as a backdrop,"
Jones said
The 2,896-acre addition to the Pisgah National Forest protects important Lake James' watersheds and stunning
views in the Black Bear area in McDowell County and gives hunters and hikers access from Lake James Road,
which rings the lake near the shore.
Pisgah National Forest expands by 2,896 acres above Lake James
October 2, 2003, Morganton - The Pisgah National Forest has expanded by 2,896 acres in the Black Bear area
above Lake James in McDowell County, protecting forests, watersheds and scenic views from fragmentation and
development. The acquisition brings the national forest down to Lake James Road, improving access for hikers,
hunters and fishermen.
The former International Paper Corporation land was purchased by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) for $4.8 million
with funds remaining from$6.5 million allocated in 2001-2002 for purchases in the Lake James area. Early last year,
the USFS used the first of these funds to purchase a 607-acre tract on the west side of the Linville River above Lake
James in Burke County.
Strong public support for public access and watershed, shoreline and scenic view protection at Lake James prompted
U.S. Representatives Charles Taylor and Cass Ballenger and U.S. Senator John Edwards to secure these funds to
expand the Pisgah National Forest above the lake in both McDowell and Burke Counties.
Since 1998, the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, a regional land trust, has worked with local citizen groups,
including Citizens to Save Lake James and the Lake James Environmental Association; other conservation groups;
and with local, state, and federal officials to protect the northern shores and watersheds of scenic Lake James,
including lands adjacent to the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area.
Strategic expansion of the Pisgah National Forest by several thousand acres is a key component of this protection
effort. More than 3,500 acres have now been added with the initial $6.5 million in funding, and additional funding is
being sought to secure other key tracts.
“The Black Bear watershed area above Lake James contains significant headwater streams feeding pure water into
Lake James,” said Susie Hamrick Jones, Executive Director of the Foothills Conservancy. “As national forest,
these lands will be managed for multiple uses, ultimately protecting these valuable waters, forests and wildlife habitat
and the magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains above Lake James. “The conservation and public recreational
benefits of these vital Lake James and Catawba River watersheds are immeasurable,” she said. “We applaud the
leadership and foresight shown by Congressmen Taylor and Ballenger, Senator Edwards, and the citizens and
leaders of McDowell and Burke Counties in recognizing the value of these watersheds and for supporting this
strategic expansion of the Pisgah National Forest above Lake James.”
Citizens, public officials, and conservationists broadly support protection of Lake James and its largely undeveloped
shoreline and watersheds to protect water quality and wildlife habitat, preserve the lake's spectacular mountain
vistas, and expand public recreational opportunities at the lake and along the lower Linville River.
Lake James, the first impoundment on the Catawba River, is a 6,500-acre lake, which lies at the foot of the Pisgah
National Forest and the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in Burke and McDowell counties. Boaters, fishermen,
swimmers, hikers, and picnickers crowd year-round to the 565-acre Lake James State Park and a few other public
access areas to enjoy the clean, clear waters of the lake; its forested shoreline; and the panoramic Blue Ridge
Mountains rising above the lake. Close to a half million people visit the lake each year.
Tuesday, May 14, 2002
LAND PURCHASE WILL INCREASE LAKE JAMES BUFFER - OTHER ACQUISITIONS PLANNED TO PROTECT
THE LAKE AND ITS WATERSHED FROM DEVELOPMENT
Erica Beshears-Staff Writer/The Charlotte Observer
The U.S. Forest Service announced Monday it has purchased 607 acres toward an expansion of the Pisgah National
Forest from the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area to Lake James.
Conservationists hailed the purchase as an important step in protecting the watershed and water quality of Lake James,
the cleanest and least-touched lake on the Catawba River, which supplies water to most of the Charlotte region. The
undeveloped forest land, on the west bank of the scenic Linville River, also will provide more space for recreation in the
heavily used Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah.
"This is just a beautiful addition for the forest," said Miera Crawford, district ranger for the Grandfather district.
"We get to explore what's there," she said as she walked along a grassy trail through the hardwood forest, imagining
spots where future forest visitors might enjoy a picnic or camping. "That's what we're looking forward to."
The land was purchased from International Paper Corp. for nearly $1.6 million. The sale was finalized earlier this month.
Officials say they hope the purchase is the first of many in the area north of Lake James. Congress has allocated $6.5
million for expanding Pisgah, which covers more than a million acres in northwestern North Carolina. The Forest Service
is requesting more money this year.
But buying property is slow work. The Forest Service can only purchase land from willing sellers at the appraised value,
Crawford said. And the land must touch existing national forest.
Eventually, the protected land may grow by as many as 10,000 acres and extend all the way to the shoreline, said
Susie Hamrick Jones, executive director of the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina.
Her group has worked since 1998 to protect the watershed north of Lake James.
Most of the land in that area belongs to Crescent Resources and International Paper, Jones said.
Jones described the land as a "strategic tract" that extends the current Pisgah boundary south towards Lake James.
Purchasing it accomplishes several goals, she said: It protects much of the Linville River watershed from development;
it protects the view from the top of the Linville Gorge; and it will provide public access to the Linville River below the gorge.
Strong public support at the local level convinced Republican Congressmen Charles Taylor if Brevard and Cass Ballenger
of Hickory and Democratic Sen. John Edwards to push for the expansion funds, Jones said.
"It's a wonderful affirmation of the power of people, really, to protect the very valuable resources that we hold in these
upland areas, these watershed areas," she said. "You can't replace those."
For years, Lake James, a 6,500-acre lake that straddles Burke and McDowell counties, remained free from lakeshore
development such as on Lake Norman and Lake Hickory.
But housing developments have appeared on the lakeshore, launching a battle between corporate landowners and
conservationists, who say developing the lake and its watershed would significantly harm water quality.
"This has been a hot, front-burner issue," said Rance Henderson, chairman of the Burke County committee that
recommended land-use regulations for shoreline development.
Henderson said the Pisgah expansion fits into what his committee hoped to accomplish.
He said he also liked that the area's corporate landowners were willing to sell the property to the government for
preservation.
"The ultimate goal of all our activity was to preserve the lakeshore and acres for prudent and balanced development,"
he said. "This just adds to a much larger area that will never be developed."
US Forest Service map
