Written by Caleb Geddes Reed
Pisgah View State Park, Buncombe County's first state park, is in the master planning stage after receiving positive feedback during public input sessions that included in-person meetings and an online survey held in December 2023 and February 2024. It has migrated.
“We want to do our due diligence to obtain community input on what facilities and activities they would like to see in the park,” said spokeswoman Chris Ann Bonifacio. he wrote in an email to Appalachian Voice.
Another conference will be held later in the spring to present comprehensive data collected from feedback.
The move from idea to formal plan ends years of work between the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation and the Cogburn family to purchase more than 1,300 acres in Buncombe County for a new park, according to the Citizen Times. I'm going to hit it. The state acquired the final 170 acres needed for the park in November.
Just over $18.1 million was spent on land acquisition alone, according to the latest numbers provided to Appalachian Voices. In 2021, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy helped secure $1 million in matching funds for the state to purchase parkland, facilitating a 10-acre donation by Stagg and Cheryl Newman.
The North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation acquired nearly 3,000 acres of state park land in 2023, welcoming more than 20 million visitors, up 4% from the previous year, WLOS reported.