This Land, Your Land

If you are interested in influencing the Proposed Land and Resource Management Plan for the Uwharrie National Forest, make plans to attend a public hearing at 6 p.m. August 18 at the Garner Conference Center, 211 Burnett St. in Troy.

The plan, which is available for review online, will guide management of the 50,814-acre forest for the next 15 years.

"The plan works to fulfill the Forest Service’s mission of managing national forests for multiple uses," a news release says. "The major themes of the draft management plan for the Uwharrie National Forest are: restoring the forest to a more natural ecological condition; better management of cultural resources; and providing outstanding and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities, with excellent trails and facilities."

Planners anticipate increased use of the Uwharrie in coming years as nearby state roads and interstate highways are widened to four lanes, and as Fort Bragg continues to grow, the plan says.

"More effective management of recreation, especially dealing with the many trails that are in poor condition, could help accommodate the expected increase in use," the plan says.

"Several new or improved developed recreation sites were constructed over the past two decades. The focus for the foreseeable future could be on maintenance rather than new construction, so that more resources could be used toward bettering the management of dispersed recreation."

Comments on the plan are being accepted until September 24 at comments-southern-north-carolina@fs.fed.us or Uwharrie Plan Revision, National Forests in North Carolina, 160-A Zillicoa Street, Asheville, N.C. 28801; or to 828-257-4263 by fax. Put "Proposed Uwharrie Plan Revision" in the subject line of email.

The state has posted the draft of a master plan for Carvers Creek State Park in Cumberland County and is accepting comments on it through June 22.

The master plan is to be made final sometime this year, and the park is to be developed over several years to come.

The plan's executive summary says the 4,000-acre park* adjacent to Spring Lake, Fort Bragg and Fayetteville "will be similar to other urban state parks, such as William B. Umstead State Park in the Triangle." It is the first state park to serve the Fayetteville area.

The park straddles U.S. 210 and U.S. 401 north of Fayetteville, and extends from the border of Fort Bragg on the west to a smaller section on the Cape Fear River to the east.

The park is expected to be used primarily for hiking, camping and picnicking. "The primary interpretive themes of the park are ecological restoration and the cultural history of Long Valley Farm," a tract with several buildings from the former James Stillman Rockefeller Estate, which are to be operated so visitors may experience "life on an early 20th century scientific farm," the plan says.

A state park’s master plan is essentially a blueprint for long-term development of facilities and recreation opportunities and a guide for protection of natural resources, a Division of Parks and Recreation news release says.

The plan (.pdf) calls for "approximately 20 miles of multi-use trails, four miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails, and seven miles of single-use trails." Other plans include tent and trailer campgrounds, group camping and primitive camping, fishing piers and a boat rental on McDiarmid Mill Pond, day use areas, and opportunities for bicycling, horseback riding, picnicking and wildlife observation, including river overlooks.

There's also to be a visitors center, community building, auditorium, classrooms, gift shop, restrooms, reception area, and offices and support areas.

Written comments about the plan can be submitted by email to max.rogers@ncdenr.gov or by mail to: State Parks Planner, N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, 1615 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1615.

*This post originally misquoted the much larger "study area" as the park's acreage.