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BRP to grow by 110 acres
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Lifelong love of Parkway leads to land sale/donation
Fans of the Blue Ridge Parkway will soon receive a 110-acre anniversary gift thanks to a lifelong neighbor and supporter of the scenic highway.
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| Tree on Richland Creek Headwaters tract |
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina has just accepted the donation of a 46-acre tract from Joe and Wilma Jo Arrington of Waynesville. Combined with 64 acres sold by the Arringtons to CTNC in April, the land will be conveyed to the National Park Service, possibly by the time the Parkway marks its 75th anniversary in September.
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 Joe Arrington's family in 1936, about two decades before Parkway construction reached the area. As a young man, Mr. Arrington often explored the highway's construction area with his friends - the start of a lifelong attachment to its corridor of magnificent scenery and lush hillsides.
“Even the locals appreciate it and enjoy the place where you get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy the cool mountain air,” he says. “It isn’t something you see once and say, ‘Been there, done that.’”
Richland Creek Headwaters provides a spectacular backdrop for the Blue Ridge Parkway for travelers – especially from the Waynesville and Saunook overlooks – near the boundary of Jackson and Haywood counties in the Great Balsam Mountains. Most of the tract falls within confines of the Pisgah Ridge Significant Natural Area. Its position adjacent to and near other protected properties will help safeguard wildlife habitat in the region as well as water quality.
“Joe Arrington has done a wonderful thing,” said CTNC Executive Director Reid Wilson. “He’s made sure that this beautiful land, visible from two Parkway overlooks, will remain natural forever, ensuring clean-running streams, intact wildlife habitat and gorgeous vistas.”
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