BRIEF HISTORY OF D IV IS ION OF STATE PARKS
i 18 1 The old Ge ologi cal and Econom c Survey , e stabli shed in 9 , prede ce s s or of th
Department of Conservation and Development , wa s promoting State Parks a s early a s th
turn of the century . Through its Divi si on of Fore stry , the Survey began the S tate
1 1 - 1 16 i M M Park System in 9 5 9 with the a cqui s ti on of ount itchell State Park . The
S Divi si on of Fore s try continued to be re spons ible for tate Parks , both a s a Divi sion
1 2 of the Ge ologi c and E conomi c Survey and , from 9 5 on , a s a Divi s i on of the Depart
1 1 8 ment of Cons ervation and Development until O ctober , 94 , when the Divis i on of
EME Nxa Pa rks v ms created in re c ogniti on of the growing importance of the State Park
program .
s 1 - In Augu t 93 5 , the fir s t full time Superintendent of State Park s wa s hired and wa s the fir s t employe e of the Divi s i on of Fore stry employed spe cifi cally to
' devote full time to handling the Department s State Park Program . At the same time ,
F the Branch of State Parks was set up within the o re s try Divi s ion . Before thi s , all
S tate Park matters had be en handled dire ctly by the State Fore stery along with hi s
t many other dutie s . At thi s time , he Superintendent of State Parks wa s hired , there
- Mo M wa s o ne State Park employee the warden at unt itchell S tate Park . Today , there
2 - 100 are 4 full time , 3 half time , and s ea sonal employe e s i n the Divi s ion of S tate
Parks .
Sta te Pa rk Pe rso n n e l Sta te Pa rk Pe rs o n n e l l9 o7
19 3 5
Pe rm a n e n t E m pl oye e s
Se a so n a l E m pl o ye e s
H a lf tim e E m pl oye e s The State Park Sys tem now include s fourteen State Parks having a total of
acre s ( land and water ) .
S t s in c e Nbun t M The growth of the State Park ys em. the e stabli shment of it chell
State Park i s shown below
State Parks
Ac guired How Ac g uir ed
Mount Mit chell State Park Purcha se by State
Fort Ma con S tate Park Gift from Federal Government
( l ) Re nde zv ou s Mountain State Park 1926 Gift from private individual s
Morrow Mountain S tate Park Partly gift from private indi v i u l d a s and Stanly County , and partly S tate purcha s e
Hanging Ro ck State Park Gif t from priva te individual s
( 2 ) Cape Hattera s State Park Gift from private individual s
Jone s Lake State Park Fir s t lease then deed from Federal Government
Singletary Lake Group Camp First lea se then deed from Federal Government
( 3 ) Pe ttigrew State Park Fir st leas e then deed from Federal Government
( 4 ) Sandhill s Sta te Re creational Area Lea s e from Federal Government
B ( 5 ) Crabtree Creek ( Willi am . Ums tead Stat e Park) Gift from Federal Government
( 5 ) Re edy Creek S tate Park Gift from Federal Government
Cliffs of the Neus e S tate Park 1945 Gift from private individual s
6 f o T e nn e e e V ( ) Hiwa s s ee Lake State Park Lea se r m. s s alley Authority
Mbun t Jeffer so n State Park Gift from private individuals and T own of we s t Jeffers on
Hammo cks Bea ch State Park Gift from Hammocks Beach Corporation
i t e Duke Power State Park Gift f rom. pr v a enterpri se
weymouth Woods SNP 1963 Gift from p rivate individual s Pilot Mountain State Park Gift from Pilot Mountain Pre s vation and Park Committee
NOTES ( 1 ) Rende zvous Mountain State Park eliminated from
S tate Park System in 19 56 be cause it did not mee t
minimum State Park standards .
( 2 ) Cape Hattera s S tate Park deeded to the United
22 1 S tate s of Ameri ca , De cember , 95 2 for inclus i on
in the Cape Hattera s National S ea shore Re creational
Area a s required by Act of General As s embly .
( 3 ) The Somerset Place in Pe ttigrew S tate Park was
transferred to the Department of Archive s and
1 6 Hi s tory in 9 5 . Re creational facilitie s and Natural
re s ource s management remains under the admini s tra
tion of State Parks .
( 4) Sandhill s State Re creati onal Area wa s a part of the
Sandhill s Co operative land use area which wa s later
de signated a s North Carolina Wildlife Ma nagement Are a
1 1 and , on O ctober 3 , 94 , turned over to the Divi s ion
of Game and Inland Fi sherie s ( now Wildlife Re s ourc e s
Commi s si on . )
1 0 ( 5 ) Divided into two S tate Parks Apri l 24 , 9 5 ; Crab
tre e Cre ek S tate Park for white us e and Re edy Creek
S tat e Park for Negro use . Name of Crabtre e Creek
S tate Park changed to William B . Ums tead State
Park by Board of Cons ervation and Development in
6 1 re s olution of January 2 , 95 5 . The s e area s were
8 1 66 . re c ombined into a single unit on February , 9
( 6 ) Lea s e with TV A for Hiwas s ee State Park wa s terminated
1 1 De c ember 3 , 95 2 . To ta l A c re a g e
s a o o o
s q o o o
a d o o o
3 a o o o
2 5 0 0 0
KL O O O
”2 0
State Letee
White Lake , Black Lake , Singletary Lake , Jone s Lake , Salters Lake ( all i n
B laden County) , Lake wac camaw ( in Columbus County) and Lake Phelp s ( washington and
Tyrrell Countie s ) have always be en s tate ! owned and remain s o by Act s of the General
6 As sembly . With the excepti on of . a cre s on the shore of White Lake whi ch i s de
L voted entirely t o admini strati on , no land bordering White ake , Black Lake or Lake
- Wac camaw i s s tate owned . S even hundred and three acre s of land on Lake Phelp s c on
s titut e s Pettigrew S tate Park . Jone s , Salters , and Singletary Lake s are within
the boundarie s of Jone s Lake S tate Park and S ingletary Lake Group Camp . The S tate
!
ake s are admini stered by the Divi s ion of S tate Parks .
Stete Hi s tory Sitee
All S tate Hi stori c Site s were transferred to the Department of Archive s and
1 1 Hi story in 95 5 in ac cordance with an Act of the 9 5 5 General As sembly .
A c guire d How A c guir e d
Town Cre ek Indian Mound Gift from private individual s
1 Charle s B . Ay c o ck Birthplace 19 5 Gift Acquired How Acquired
Jame s Iredell Hous e S tate Purcha se
Tryon Pala c e S tate purcha se with state and private funds
f o r i Brunswick Town Gift r m. p v a t e individual s
Battle of Alamance Gift from Alamanc e County
The work the Divi si on of State Parks doe s to carry out it s purpo s e , obj e ctive s
o a nd func ti ons , and to achieve it s goal s , i s complex and vari ed and require s the r
a niz ti on g a , utili zation , dire c tion and coordinati on of a varie ty of profe s sions ,
hm skills and s ervi c e s . To as sure it s ac c ompli s ent in an orderly , effi ci ent and
e conomi cal manner , thi s work i s organi zed into nine maj or pha s e s
Pers onnel Admini s tration Prote ction and Law Enforcement Operation for Publi c Us e Maintenance Bus ine s s Management Interpretive and Publi c us e Programs
Planning , Development and Cons truction I nformation and Education Cooperation with and s ervi ce s to Other Agencie s
26 1 ! On January , 9 5 5 , the Bo ard of Cons ervation and Development adopted Prin c i le s p Governing the E stabli shment , Extens i on and Development of the S tate Park
! System of the Sta te of North Carolina . Thi s forward step ha s provided much needed frame work under whi ch the Divis i on can more orderly functi on in the expansi on and d evelopment of urgently ne eded addi ti onal State Parks . GENERAL PRINC IPLES
To as sure the ac compli shment of thi s ba si c purpo se in ac cordance with the be st standards , State Park s ite s of the North Carolina State Park System shall be limi ted to
1 . S c e nic and Recreational State Parks .
a . S tate parks whi ch evaluated on a
! s tate wide ba si s , po s s e s s unique
or exceptional s cenic value .
By excepti onal s cenic value i s
meant rare natural s cenery , whi ch i s unlikely to be pre s erved for the benefit and enj oyment of the publi c in thi s and future gener a tion s if the property remains in
private ownership , and which i s suffi ciently di s tinctive to at tract and intere st people from di stant part s of the State a s
well a s lo cal pe ople .
S tate parks which po s se s s di s tin c tiv e s ceni c value s and excel lent opportunitie s for the devel opme n t of fa cilitie s for active re creati onal us e of natural r e s ourc e s and exc ellent Opportun itie s for the s tudy of natural
hi s tory . It i s highly important that the s e area s have di stinctive s ceni c character be caus e the f i nal te s t of such area s i s the po s s e s s ion of a natural appeal whi ch will make park us ers eager
to re turn . Area s lacking such natural appeal are not j us tif i able a s unit s of the State Park
System .
a . S tate s cientifi c site s whi ch ,
! evaluated on a state wide ba si s , have unique natural s cientifi c
feature s .
A state park s ite ( other than s cientifi c s ite s ) should po s se s s both s ceni c and re creational val
ue s . In some s ite s exceptional s ceni c value s may be suffi cient to overc ome the la ck of re creational po s s ibilitie s , and in other s ite s unusual re creational po s sibilitie s may make up for a lack of s ce ni c value s . By unusual re creational value i s meant feature s such as topography , tree s , ve g e tation , of s treams , lake s or o cean shore f erin g re creational po s sibilitie s whi ch would attra ct and intere s t pe ople of a wide surrounding area and would not be available to the public if the property remained in private ownership .
An eve n ge ographical di s tribution of state parks at arbitrary di s tance s , for example every fifty mile s , or state parks for every c ounty , i s manife s tly impo s sible on any rea s onable the ory of s cenic be and re creational s tandards , caus e it i s fundamentally uh s cientific , and be cause it would be unnec e s sary and prohibitively expe ns ive .
The s tate parks should be suffi i z e dev e lo me n t c ient in number , s , p , operation and maintenance to ade qua t ely s erve the needs of all of the people of the S tate over and above the facilitie s whi ch are or should be provided by lo cal city , town and county parks .
Ge nerally speaking , exi s ting state parks should be adequately devel oped before additional state parks z are acquired , but it i s re cogni ed that the s tate park sys tem i s far f o l t e O rom. c mp e and pportunitie s to overc ome defi c ie ncie s should not be negle cted . PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL STATE PARKS AND E! TENS IO N AND DEVELOPMENT OF E! ISTING STATE PARKS
S o that e stablishment of new state parks will not retard the proper devel opme nt of exi s ting s tate parks and to maintain the North Carolina S tate Park
Sys tem at a high s tandard , the following principles and requirements mus t be stri ctly adhered to
Acqui sition of new s tate park s ite s shall be limited to tho s e type s de s c r ibed under ! GE NERAL PRINCIPLES Type s of S tate Park S ite s ! and po s se s sing the value s and qualitie s de s cribed there in .
Every state park s ite ( except state s cientific s ite s ) shall be of suffi cient si ze to
1 . In the ca se of State Parks po s se s sing unique or exc eptional s ceni c value
( a ) c ompletely include the s cenic or natural feature s the area i s e stab lis hed to prote ct and pre se rve ; ( b ) provide suffic ient buffer area to prote ct the s cenic or natural fea ture s from outs ide influence s or encroachment s ; ( c ) provide a reas on ably sati sfac tory habitat for in dig e n ou s wildlife ; and ( d ) permit the development of re creati onal and publi c us e areas if the se can be pro v id e d without damage to or impairment of the primary purpo se of pre serving
the s ceni c or natural feature s , and if ge ographic locati on or public need j us tify development of such 00 area . Under no rmal c onditions , 4 acre s of land well adapted to state park us e and development shall \be
c ons idered as a minimum. s i ze for
each state park s ite .
2 . In the ca s e of s tate parks po s s e s s ing di s tinctive s c enic value s and
8 excellent re creational Opportunitie s
( a ) completely include the dis tino tive s ceni c feature s of the area and
if po s sible , one or more complete lands cape unit s ; ( b) provide suffi cient buffer area to protec t the dis tinctive s ceni c feature s from out s ide influence s or encroachments ; ( 0 ) provide a rea s onably s a tis f a c tory habitat for indigenous wild lif e ; ( d ) amply ac c ommodate the r e creational and public us e develop me nts required to meet pre sent and future publi c needs and to a c c ommo date the s e developments in such a way that various type s of publi c us e will not interfere with each o ther or de s troy the effe ct of a natural environment ; and ( e ) pro vide extens ive us e amid unspoiled and relatively unmodified natural
surroundings . Under normal c ondi 00 tions , 4 acre s of land well adapted to s tate park us e and de v e lopmen t shall be c ons idered a s a
minimum. s i ze for ea ch sta te park
site .
3 . I n the ca se of state s cientifi c s ite s
( a ) c ompletely include the s cientific feature or feature s the area i s e s ta blis hed to prote c t a nd pre serve ; ( b) permi t development of fa c ilitie s
for public ac ce s s , sanitation , main t ena n c e and adequate interpre tive f a c ilitie s without damage to or impair ment of the s cie ntific feature or fe a ture s ; and ( 0 ) provide suffi c ient buffer area to prote c t the s c ientific f r o out id e in f eature or feature s m. s
fluence or e ncroachme nt s .
E xi s ting s tate parks should be ex
te nded to meet thi s minimum si ze .
It i s be tter to c onc e ntrate on one large fine park than to s catter e f
fort s over a number of smalle r parks . Small er Parks
The c o s t of land should be rea s onable c ons idering value s in the se ction of the S tate in whi ch the s tate park
9 site i s lo cated . Other things being equal , a site involving a small num ber of pre s ent owners i s to be pre ferred . No property should be a c c epted a s a gift unle s s it meets all the requirements herein set forth for e s tablishing new state parks and ih volve s no c ommitments , privilege s or conditions except a condition re quiring that the property be used only for state park purpo se s .
State Parks which po s se s s unique or excepti onal s cenic value and state s cientific site s mus t be located where the value s j us tifying their a o quis iti on exi s t regardle s s of geo graphi c location ih relation to pcpu lation and exi sting and propo sed pub li c and private parks and re creati on area s .
State Park S ite s po s se s sing di s tin c tiv e s ceni c value and excellent opportunitie s for re creational de v e lopme n t should be ge ographically located s o a s to be readily ac ce s s ible to a s large a populatio n as po s sible while still meeting the re quired standards of di s tinctive s ceni c value . S tate Parks s ite s of thi s type which duplicate exi sting or propo sed parks and re creational pro in grams the general vi cinity , or whi ch have inherent chara cteri sti c s or development po s sibilitie s of only local intere st , or which s erve only local need shall not be added to the
S tate Park System .
S tate Parks po s s e s si ng unique or ex c epti ona l s ceni c value shall re ceive only such development a s i s ne ce s sary to prote ct and pre s erve the s cenic and natural value s , prov ide publi c ac ce s s , prote ct public health and provide adequate interpre tive pro grams , and the development of such other re creational and public use f a c ilit ie s a s can be provided to meet j us tifiable public needs without dam age to or impairment of the s ceni c and natural value s . All development s shall be planned and exe cuted s o as a to in no way impair , d mage or de tract from the s cenic or natural val ue s whi ch the area s were e s tabli shed
10 to pre serve and pro te c t .
S tate Parks po s se s sing di s tinc tive s ceni c value s and exc ellent oppor tu n itie s for the development of fa c ili ti e s for ac tive re creational us e of natural re s ource s shall re ce ive all development required to prote c t and pre serve the di s tinctive s ceni c val ue s , provide publi c ac ce s s , prote ct publi c health , provide re creational us e of natural re s ource s and provide adequate interpretive programs . De v e lopme n t for publi c use of natural re s ource s shall primarily include f a c ilit ie s for such outdoor activitie s a s pi cnicking , swimming , boating , fi shing , hiking , nature study and Fa camping , and for vacation us e . c ilitie s for such re creational a c tiv itie s a s organi zed sports , play grounds and athle ti c conte s ts are bette r sui ted to muni c ipal and other parks and shall not be provided in s tate park area s except for simple playfi elds incident to pi cnicking and organi zed camping . All development shall be s o planned and c ons truc ted as to keep di s turbanc e of natural c onditions at a minimum and to leave a liberal porti on of each S tate Park c ompletely undi s turbed and completely fre e from all man- made improvements and s truc ture s , except trail s , s o a s to permi t maximum. pre s ervation of natural c onditions .
S tate s cientific site s shall re ceive only such developme nt a s i s ne ce s sary for prote c ti on and pre s ervation of the s cientifi c feature or feature s of a o s cie ntifi c s ite s , provide publ ic ce s s , pro te ct publi c health and pro vide adequate interpretive programs . All such development shall be planned and exe cuted s o a s to in no way im or pair , damage de tra ct from the
' s cie ntifi c fea ture or f e a tur e s a hd value s whi ch the area s were e s tab lished to pre s erve and pro te ct .
A S ta te Park should be developed in a dignified and substantial manner and all development and cons truc ti on should be ca refully planned in a d vanc e . C onstructio n should be with durable material s and shall be of a
ll type that will require minimum main t n n e e a c and operating co s t s .
Each State Park must eventually have , ni of mi mu . a c a s a bare m development , r ce s s and other oads , parking area s , safe drinking water , sani tary facili tie s , employee housing , maintenanc e buildings and other fundamental s . A s ite whi ch nece s sitate s unusually large expenditure s to provide for ba sic development s should ordinarily be avoided .
ADOPTED BY BOARD OF CONSERV AT ION AND DEV ELOPME NT 6 1 JANUARY 2 , 9 5 5
12 1 6 wa On April 23 , 9 3 , the Governor and Counc il of S tate approved the gift of y
Mr mouth wo ods in MOore County from s . Jame s Boyd to the S tate of North Carolina a s a
Nature Pre serve . Lo cated in S outhern Pine s , North Carolina , the weymouth Woods
Sandhill s Nature Pre serve i s a typi cal example of the unique sandhill vege tation ,
topography , and ge ology . Thi s area i s se t a s ide for pre servati on and pro te cti on in
i ts natural c onditi on wi thout development other than an Interpre tive Center , hiking
and nature trail s area . The Nature Pre se rve will be be nefi c ial to s cho ol s and uni v er s itie s throughout the s tate for vari ous type s of natural hi s tory s tudy and r e
of search , a s well a s , the enj oyment the public . Thi s area maintained and Operated a s a Nature Pre serve i s the fir s t pre s erve of thi s type to be added to the S tate
Park Sys tem .
Be cause of the growing importance of Pre serve s , the Board of Conservation and
V E M ! V M Development adopted PRINC IPLES GO ERNING THE STABLI SH ENT , E TENSION AND DE ELOP ENT
E K L R S N 1 6 OF STAT PAR NATURA A EA OF THE STATE OF ORTH CAROLI NA on April 23 , 9 3 . The Purpo se of the North Carolina S tate Parks Natural Areas System shall be
TO SERV E THE PEOPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND THE IR V IS ITORS BY
1 . Pre s e rv ing and prote cting natu
ral area s of s ci entific , ae s
thetic , or ge ologic value not only for the knowledge and in spirati on of the pre s ent gener
ati on ; but , als o for genera
tions to come .
2 . Portraying and interpre ting
plant and animal life , ge ology , and all o ther natural feature s and pro c e s se s in the vari ous
Natural Area s .
S ite s s ele cted a s Natural Area s shall be tho s e whi ch ( 1 ) be s t portray the natural pro ce s s e s that have formed the earth and it s plant and animal life ; ( 2 ) portray some spe cific natu ral pro ce s s so dramati cally and ar re s tingly a s to be unique and of suf f i c ien t importanc e to be worthy of statewide intere s t ; ( 3 ) contain some outs tanding example s of native plant and anima l communitie s or other out s tanding significant natural obj ec ts , c onditi ons , and phenomena .
In order to pre te c t the quality of
Na tural Area s , the bas ic principle of maintenanc e will be to pre serve the o ion area in i ts natural c ndt .
Paths or trail s will be opened only in a manner c ompatible with the ba s ic princ iple of maintenanc e .
O No roads will be cons tructed , pened , or maintained except tho s e required r on for p e te c ti and mi nimum. mainte nanc e .
No building s of any sort will be ere c ted except tho se required for in t er r e ta ti on m m p , prote cti on , and ini um maintenanc e .
Agri cultural Opera tions of any kind will not be permi tted . Natural Area s , being units of the Di of vi s ion S tate Parks , will be sub j e c t to S tate Park Regulati ons a s a u thor i z ed h 11 and dire c ted by C ap ter 3 ,
S e cti on 3 5 , of the General S tatute s
of North Caro lina .
S ite s sele cted a s Natural Area s shall be large enough to ( 1 ) completely ih e lude the natural feature s the area i s e s tabli shed to pre s erve and pro te c t ; ( 2 ) provide suffi cient buffer area to pro te c t the natural featur e s f o out i r m. s d e influenc e s or encroach ment s ; ( 3 ) permi t the development of interpre tive devi ce s if the se can be provided without damage or impairment of the primary purpo s e of pre se rving
the natural feature s .
Lo cati on Intrinsi c value s will de termine the lo ca ti on of Natural Area s and they mus t be lo cated where exi sting value s j us tify their acqui s i tion regardle s s of geographi c location in relati on to
population .
Ac ce s s The boundari e s of all Natural Area s should be ac ce s sible over publ ic
roads or byways .
The c o s t of land should be rea sonable, considering value s in the s e c ti on of the S tate in which the Ia tura l Area
s ite i s located . No property shall be purcha s ed or ac cepted a s a gift unle s s i t mee t s all the requirements herein s e t forth for e s tabli shing Natural Area s and involve s no c ommi t
ments , privilege s , or condi ti ons ex cept a condi ti on requiring that the property be us ed only a s a Natural
Area .
Devel opment Natural Area s shall re ce ive only suc h development a s i s ne c e s sary to pre s erve and pro te ct their natural val
ue s , pro te c t public health , and pro
vide adequate interpre tive programs . All Developments shall be planned and
exe cuted s o a s to in no way impair , tu damage , or detra ct from the na ral value s for which the area s were e s a l t b i shed to pre s erve and prote ct . Development of re creati onal and pub li c us e fa cilitie s whi ch provide for
1 5 ! organi zed sport s or co nte st s , swim
ming , camping , picnicking , and the like shall not be provided in Natural
Area s .
Adopted by the Board of Cons ervation and Development 2 1 6 April 3 , 9 3
C Po u a ti n N . . p l o
7 .
6 .
OO 2 , O .O OO
m o lqzo lqso n 4-o H s o moo N 10 meo m o
The attendance at state parks ha s increa sed rapidly during their brief exis tanc e from a few thousand to vi sitors of the biennium ending June
n 1 6 The perc entage increa se over the bie nium ending June 3 0 , 9 0 wa s
2 ,
5 0 0 o o o l, ,
‘ ‘ ‘ ' 4 6 4 9 5 2. 3 5 s o u 6 4 6 7
To ta l A tte n da n ce
18 Not only ha s to tal atte ndanc e increased , but more significantly there ha s be e l
a change of the type of park use . In the pas t , e spe cially in the early days , i
s eems that to vi s it and s e e the area wa s of primary importance . Indeed , it ma y be
erf or e said that the lack of developed facilitie s may have p c d ne ce s sitated such us e .
o l 1 2 During the peri od f r m. 93 5 to 94 all c ons tructi on of the North Carolina S tate
Parks wa s done by the Civilian Conservation Corp s , Works Progre s s Admi ni stration and o ther federal agenc ie s under j oint supervi s i on of the Department and the Nati onal
1 ! Park S ervi ce . The 947 Legi slature provided the S tate Parks wi th the fir s t appro
pria tion for Capital Improveme nt s . The s e much needed funds were augmented by the
1 1 1 1 6 1 6 1 6 . 949 , 957 , 9 59 , 9 3 , 9 5 and 9 7 Legi slature s
The park vi sit or s are in almo s t every s ens e park users . Whether they come to
relax in natural surrounding s , to pi cnic , camp , swim , fi sh , hike or e nj oy the per
suit s of nature study , they are park user s . The people not only expe c t but demand
the ne ce s sary fa cilitie s for an increa s ed s cope of park use . Picnic area s , camp
grounds and swimmi ng area s are wanted . They expe ct fa cilitie s for interpreting and
a o n expl ining natural pehn me a and trail s for hiking .
r,
r ,
0 0 5 0 , 0 0
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
4 6 44 5 2. 5 5 so 6 1
Pic n ic ke rs
Pi cni cking T otal Attendance Increa se in P ic ni cki ng 0 0 0
0 0 0
l 5 0 0 0 0 0 , ,
‘ 4 6 4 9 5 2 5 5 s o 6 ! 6 4 5 1
Fa m il y C a m pin g Camping Total Attendance 18 Increas e i n Camping
0 2. 2 5 O , 0 0
0 0 0
tfls q o o o
l 0 0 0 0 0 0 , ,
5 0 0 , 0 0 0
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 4 5 4 9 s z 5 5 5 0 or 6 4 6 7
Sw im m im g
S wimming Total Attendance Increa s e i n Swimmi n g 2 2 ,
a
1,
‘ ‘ ‘ s z 5 5 5 0
H ikin g
Hiking Total Attendanc e l 77 . 3% Increa s e in Hiking
The mushr ooming park use and the demand for outdoor re creati onal us e indicate a critical need for additi onal s tate park area s and addi ti ons to exi s ting s tate
M a . u parks . a ny authori tie s in the fie ld of outdoor r e c r e tion r e s o r c e s advocate that three acre s of s tate park land are ne c e s s ary for each 100 per s ons j us t to mee t to
8 r 100 days demands . It i s believed tha t thi s acreage mus t be increa sed to a cre s pe oe o le p withi n 23 years .
' We North Carolina s S tate Park a c r ea d falls far short of the s tandards .
have one third of thi s in S tate Park Acreage . A c re s Pe r O n e H un d re d Pe o p l e
A d v o ca te d A c re a g e A d v o ca te d A c re a g e
19 6 7 19 9 0 THE CHALLENGE MUST BE ME T
The challenge ha s be en . ma d e ; the challenge to fulfill the one purpo se of the
Divi sio n of S tate Parks
TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND THEIR V IS ITORS
To meet such a challenge much work mus t be done
! NE M E a . E I ST ING STATE PARKS ST BE PROTECTED , AINTAIN D AND OPERATED
AT A HIGH STANDARD .
The pre s ervati on , protec ti on , maintenance and operati on of exi s ting s tate parks are clo uded by i nsuffi ci ent pers onnel and budget s to a d equa t ed maintain the s e area s for the volume of public us e they
. Ma a wa r CCC WPA re ceive ny exi sting fa ciliti e s d te to pre ‘ and c on
s tructi on , and the se pre s ent increa sing demands fo r replacement and
maj or maintenanc e . Programs whi ch provide for publi c use of the natural feature s of the S tate Parks and for interpr eting the s e natu ral feature s mus t be augmented by both ne ce s sary fa ciliti e s and
trained pers onnel .
LAND MUST BE AC! UIRED FOR ADDITI ONAL STATE PARKS AND TO C OMPLETE ! RE! UIREMENTS OF E ISTI NG STATE PARKS .
Only by acquiring additi onal land for new s tate parks and to com plete the land a cqui s iti on pro grams of exi s ting state parks can the t M ne eds of the people be me . a ny exi s ting s tate parks pre se nt pro bl in ems attributable to interi or holding s , irregular boundarie s or S suffi cient si z e . uch problems render prote ction of valuable state o f l r . ire v a nda i . n property f m , sm a d other dama ge almo s t impo s s ible . Proper development for public us e i s handi capped if not completely
nullified .
There are to o few state parks t o ade quately render reas onable s er
vi ce to the pe ople of North Caroli na . Additi onal areas mu st be pro v ided to
l . Pre s erve certain area s of out s tanding s c enic or s cientifi c
quality .
2 . To bring s tate park s ervi ce s to all s e cti on s of North Carolina .
3 . To preve nt the over us e and irreparable de s tructi on of certain
area s .
There are many area s of exceptional quality which mus t be added to S the S tate Park ys tem .
NN NE V V ADDIT IONAL TE CHNI CAL PERSO EL ST BE PRO IDED FOR PLANNI NG , DE EL OPME NT AND OPERAT ION OF THE STATE PARK SYSTEM .
An adequate s taff of c ompe ta nt te chnical pers o nnel i s e s sential for s ound planning and the e co nomi cal developme nt of the s tate park sys tem
23 as well as for the operation of it .
Increa sed attenti on mus t be given to pre s enting and interpre ting the natural re s ource s of the S tate Parks .
E D ADDITIO NAL STATE PARK AR AS MUST BE A E! UATELY DEVELOPED .
New area s and addi ti ons to exi s ting area s , once acquired mus t be provided with ne c e s sary fa c ilitie s and developed in ac cordance with the PRINC IPLES GOVERNING THE ESTABL ISHME NT E! TENS ION AND DEV ELOPME NT OF STATE PARK SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF NORTH