This Land, Your Land

The U.S. Forest Servce took over ownership this week of Catawba Falls, a scenic waterfall near Old Fort in the Pisgah Forest that for years has been surrounded by privately owned land.

The 88 acres included in the purchase of two tracts contain the 100-foot lower and 70-foot upper falls on the Catawba River in McDowell County.

The Forest Service paid $713,000 to the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, a regional land trust. The money was appropriated in legislation approved last December.

The falls have been part of the Pisgah since 1989 but didn't have a trail that was open to the public, Foothills land protection director Tom Kenney told The Charlotte Observer.

The Foothills Conservancy has been working for nearly 20 years to acquire the property, according to The Asheville Citizen-Times. It bought 65 acres of the 88-acre tract in 2005. An anonymous lender helped the conservancy buy an additional 23 acres in 2007.

The Citizen-Times said the Forest Service plans to build a parking lot at the trailhead, a better trail and a bridge for hikers making the 1.5-mile trek to the falls. A plaque will commemorate original landowner Col. Dan Adams.

To get to Catawba Falls, take Interstate 40's Exit 73 in Old Fort, go southwest on State Road 1274 (Catawba River Road) and follow it about 3 miles to its end. The trail is open, but parking is very limited.