Contact: Charlie Peek, 919/715-8709
Date: November 7, 2001 Distribution: Statewide
Public Input Is Requested On Master Plan For Gorges State Park
RALEIGH -- As part of its mater planning process, the NC Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public comment on potential development of the new Gorges State Park in Transylvania County.
A long-range master plan is being developed for North Carolina's newest state park. It will essentially be a blueprint for how the 7,000-acre tract, acquired from Duke Power Co. in early 2,000, is developed in the coming decades. The plan is to be formally presented to the division in the spring of 2002 by Haden-Stanziale, a planning and landscape architectural company based in Charlotte.
Public workshops are scheduled for Nov. 12 in Rosman in Transylvania County and Nov. 13 in Cashiers in Jackson County. At those workshops, general concepts for developing the park will be presented by Haden-Stanziale, and citizens will have a chance to view maps and share ideas with the planners and officials of the parks system.
State parks officials have also created a web page to explain the master planning process and to accept public comments until mid-January when a draft plan is to be presented. The web page address is www.ncsparks.net/plangorges.html.
All the facilities now at Gorges State Park are considered interim, designed to eventually be relocated if necessary under guidance from a master plan. Similar master plans have been developed for each of the other 29 state parks and four recreation areas in the system. The plans seek to balance recreational opportunities with the system's mission to preserve and protect natural resources.
In preparation for this process at Gorges State Park, planners and resource management officials have searched the park for concentrations of rare plant and animal species and sites of cultural or historic significance. They have also compiled details of the terrain and the character of what is a near-pristine, but extremely rugged landscape.
Developing the master plan means making some difficult decisions about this area that is already becoming very popular with outdoor enthusiasts. Some of the issues that the master plan will address include:
· Which areas in the rugged terrain are suitable as sites for facilities and which areas should be left to nature;
· How critical habitats for plant and animal species can be protected;
· Which roads will be open to visitors, how they'll be configured and which might be closed to some types of traffic;
· How trails and overlooks can be configured to take advantage of scenic viewsheds and provide for greatest park enjoyment;
· In a landscape laced with dramatic waterfalls and rapids, which can be made safely accessible to the public;
· What types of camping can be permitted and where, and
· How provisions can be made for emergency and rescue operations.
Each of the public workshops begins at 7 p.m. The Nov. 12 workshop will be at Rosman High School on NC 178 south of US 64 west of Brevard. The Nov. 13 workshop is at the Albert Cashiers Community Library on Grouse Point Road off NC 107 in Cashiers.
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