French Broad River Valley Focus Ar
Future Pisgah View State Park Update on Creating the Future Park The site of the future state park includes 1,600 acres of forests and open fields.
The future Pisgah View State Park in western North Carolina is beginning to take shape. The centerpiece of the unit will be created from land owned by the Cogburn family since the late 1700s. The family opened Pisgah View Ranch in 1941, and it became a beloved spot for generations of guests to gather for events and outdoor recreation. In 2019, the Cogburn family decided to sell the land to the state of NC for creation of a new state park – the first in Buncombe County. Thanks to an allocation in the NC state budget passed this year, the planned acquisition of land for the park could be completed within two years. NC state parks are funded through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) and the Land and Water Fund, private donations, and, on the rare occasion, special appropriations. “Since the 2008 recession the state’s trust funds have been woefully underfunded,” according to SAHC board advisor Jay Leutze. “Initially the timeline for acquiring over 1500 acres at Pisgah View was up to five years. However, with the passage of the NC state budget in November it looks like that acquisition will be completed sooner rather than later.” The budget
includes a specific appropriation of funds for acquisition of land at Pisgah View. The budget also included significant increases for the state’s three trust funds for land and water conservation, parks and recreation, and farmland preservation. “We are grateful to the NC General Assembly and the Governor for supporting this budget, which triples the funding for public land protection in NC,” says Jay. “It’s not everyday that we see a bi-partisan win of this magnitude in the budget.” Jay says Senator Chuck Edwards took the lead on appropriating funds for Pisgah View in the Senate budget with support across the aisle from Representative Brian Turner and the rest of the mountain delegation.
Rolling mountains, including Mt. Pisgah, surround the site.
12 | View from the Highlands 2021 Vol. 3
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy continues to assist our partners in acquiring parcels for inclusion in the future
| Land Protection Updates
Pisgah View State Park. SAHC has secured $1 million in private matching contributions to unlock state and federal dollars, and this year we facilitated the donation of 10 acres of park land by Stagg and Cheryl Newman. So far, the state has acquired 509 acres for the park; this includes three tracts from the Cogburn family and the donation of land from the Newmans. That leaves roughly 1,000 acres still yet to be acquired. There are a number of structures on the property, and the NC Division of Parks and Recreation will make decisions about the uses of these in the future. This fall, SAHC Conservation Director Hanni Muerdter and Jay Leutze joined state planners and members of the Cogburn family for a site visit. “Everyone was excited to see momentum building behind the park project,” says Hanni. “As the project progresses, we look forward to the process for stakeholder and community input.”
