By Caleb Guedes-Reed
Buncombe County’s first state park, Pisgah View State Park, has moved into the master planning stages after receiving positive feedback in public input meetings held in December 2023 and February 2024, which included in-person meetings and online surveys.
“We want to make sure we do our due diligence to get the community’s input on what facilities and activities they want to see at the park,” wrote Public Information Officer Kris Anne Bonifacio, in an email to The Appalachian Voice.
There will be another meeting later in the spring to present the synthesized data collected from the feedback.
The move from an idea to formal planning marks an end to years of work between the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and the Cogburn family on a purchase of over 1,300 acres in Buncombe County for the new park, according to the Citizen Times. The state acquired the last 170 acres needed for the park in November.
The most recent figures provided to The Appalachian Voice show that a little over $18.1 million was spent on land acquisition alone. In 2021, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy helped secure $1 million in matching funds for the state to purchase parkland and facilitated a 10-acre donation by Stagg and Cheryl Newman.
The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation acquired almost 3,000 acres of land for state parks in 2023 and welcomed more than 20 million visitors, a 4% increase from the previous year, WLOS reported.
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