RALEIGH, N.C. – The Blue Ridge Parkway received a 75th birthday present as the Conservation Trust for North Carolina donated a nearly 50-acre tract to the National Park Service near Cumberland Knob.

CTNC purchased the 48.7-acre Roaring Fork Headwaters tract in June 2009 from Mike Carson of Gainesville, Ga., who agreed to a steeply discounted price in order to assure that the property would be forever protected.

“This expansion of Blue Ridge Parkway’s protected corridor is a terrific way to start celebrating the park’s 75th anniversary year,” said Phil Francis, superintendent of the National Park Service’s Blue Ridge Parkway unit. “The Roaring Fork property is now part of a broad landscape of beautiful scenery, pristine mountain streams and wildlife habitat that is safeguarded forever.”

CTNC has protected a total of more than 30,000 acres along the Parkway. The Roaring Fork tract is adjacent to a 201-acre property that was conveyed by CTNC to the National Park Service in 2007.

Both are near the 3,400-acre Saddle Mountain Wilderness Area and the 1,000-acre Cumberland Knob National Recreation Area.

“The Roaring Fork Headwaters property is a perfect fit in this area of unspoiled vistas,” CTNC executive director Reid Wilson said. “Its inclusion in the Parkway’s corridor is an excellent way to start celebrating this anniversary year.”

The property is located on the border of Alleghany and Surry counties near Parkway milepost 220.5. It includes the headwaters of the Fisher River, in the Yadkin River Basin and is upstream from the water supply for the town of Dobson.

The Roaring Fork Headwaters tract is visible from two Parkway overlooks (Fox Hunter’s Paradise and High Piney Spur), and its protection will help maintain the spectacular views from the Parkway.

About the CTNC:
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina assists, promotes and represents North Carolina’s 24 local land trusts, which have protected 326,850 acres in more than 1,880 places across the state. CTNC is also a nationally accredited land trust dedicated to preserving the Blue Ridge Parkway’s natural and scenic corridor, and has protected over 30,000 acres in more than 40 locations along the Parkway. North Carolina land trusts preserve land and water resources to safeguard your way of life. We work in local communities to ensure critical lands are protected for clean drinking water, recreation, tourism and working farms and forests.

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