 Grandfather Mountain has been purchased by the state of North Carolina. It is home to 16 distinct habitats and 72 rare species. Photo by James Fay
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by JONATHON PUTNAM
Intern News Reporter
North Carolina agreed to purchase Grandfather Mountain for $12 million Monday to preserve its future as a state park.
Hugh Morton and his family formerly privately owned Grandfather Mountain since 1952.
The possibility of a purchase was something the mountain had been looking at for some time, Vice President of Grandfather Mountain Harris Prevost said.
“[The Morton Family] had one goal,” he said. “They wanted to save Grandfather Mountain for the future.”
Grandfather
has been a nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary for decades,
according to a press release from North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley.
The
mountain is home to 16 distinct habitats and 73 rare species including
the Blue Ridge goldenrod and the Carolina northern flying squirrel,
according to the press release.
The state has bought all of the back country surrounding the mountain, which amounts to 2,600 acres, Prevost said.
He said there are strict conservation easements protecting this land, which means no development is permitted.
“I think
[the purchase] is a great opportunity,” Wayne E. Williams, health,
leisure and exercise science professor said. “It will make another
great state forest in North Carolina.”
The
funding for the purchase will come from the North Carolina Parks and
Recreation Trust Fund and the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, according to
the release.
The Morton family still owns the tourist section of the mountain through a non-profit organization, Prevost said.
He said this section includes the Mile High Swinging Bridge, the Nature Museum, MacRae Meadows and the Wildlife Habitat.
There
are conservation easements on this section of the mountain to keep it
from being used other than what it is originally planned for, Prevost
said.
The
non-profit organization was formed as part of the agreement to help run
the mountain with the Morton family being on the board, according to
the release.
Prevost said the mountain will continue to operate as it always has.
“I don’t
think [the purchase is] too much of a problem, as long as they continue
to protect the wildlife,” senior psychology major Sarah C. Smith said.
The
state park portion of the mountain will most likely bring more people
out to the trails, and state funding will result in better trail upkeep
and more trails developed, Prevost said.
He said this will open up more of the mountain.
Williams said the mountain, as well as the community, will benefit greatly from the purchase.
“I
worked closely with Hugh Morton and I once introduced him to a crowd of
people as the owner of Grandfather Mountain,” Prevost said. “He
corrected me and said that he was a caretaker. He not only said this
but he acted it through his conservation efforts.”
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