0299-GCG-FoothillsConservancy ESG24-FINALb (1) - Flipbook - Page 23
2024 Impact Report
from a private conservation philanthropist, FCNC was
It is not a coincidence that FCNC’s newly assembled
the earlier Smiths Cliffs acquisitions and protect more
of the Wilderness Gateway State Trail - a section that
able to purchase an additional 165 acres to build upon
land buffering the Henry Fork River.
One of those parcels, referred to as Possum Rock,
borders River Road and Old NC 18. Shortly after
acquiring the land, a small gravel parking area and
canoe/kayak boat launch was constructed by FCNC
to offer the public a point of access to enjoy the
Henry Fork river. Sights were then set on purchasing
land to the north along NC 18. In 2020, a 157-acre
tract along Laurel Creek and NC 18 was purchased
Henry Fork River Preserve will become a vital segment
will eventually connect South Mountains State Park
northeast to Mineral Springs Mountain and Lakeside
Park in the town of Valdese. With these 850 acres
in place, connected and permanently protected,
Wilderness Gateway trail design and construction can
commence. In fact, trail building has already begun
on the Henry Fork River Preserve, and FCNC anticipates
opening this new public recreation asset to the
community in 2025.
for conservation. The Smiths Cliffs land is positioned
62 ACRES
property-the ends and centerpiece to a conservation
Kitsuma Trail
puzzle piece was missing, and a single 443-acre tract
A Legendary Mountain Biking Trail
Rescued by Conservation
halfway between Possum Rock and this Laurel Creek
puzzle. But the critical enveloping and connecting
of land encompassing a geographic area labeled
Prospect Ridge on U.S. Geological Survey maps would
make the linkage possible.
You know that feeling when your favorite comfort
A private conservation partner came to the rescue in
streaming services, and you no longer have access
2019, securing the Prospect Ridge connector parcel
and providing FCNC with time to raise the funds
necessary to make the purchase and permanently
protect it with a conservation easement. This project
was a 昀椀ve-year process, and the assemblage of
the Henry Fork River Preserve, including the original
conservation planning that laid the groundwork for
acquisitions, took 14 years.
Planning, patience, perseverance, and partnership.
show you’ve watched over and over is taken off
to it? Well, for many mountain biking enthusiasts, their
favorite trail is like your favorite comfort show. They’ll
go there any chance they have to rip through the
trees, ride the berms, and 昀氀ow through the thrill and
beauty of the landscape. One of those trails is Kitsuma.
And, unbeknownst to many, a short section of that trail
near its trailhead along the Eastern Continental Divide
in McDowell County was not secure until this year.
Kitsuma is a legendary mountain biking trail.
During this 14-year timeframe, the N.C. General
Singletracks.com, a leading cycling publication,
Wilderness Gateway State Trail, slated to become
Forest, rating it #7 on its list of the 12 Best Mountain
Carolina, and bestowed FCNC as the lead organization
for its unique and challenging features and has
crosses a vast, connected landscape of conservation
challenging yet enjoyable terrain. The not-so-public
last 29 years protecting and will include “blueway”
trailhead were actually on privately owned land that
and Jacob Fork rivers.
trail, and public access could have been removed.
Assembly passed legislation to authorize the
listed Kitsuma as a “must ride” in the Pisgah National
one of the longest state-designated trails in North
Bike Destinations in the USA. The trail is known publicly
to actualize the long-distance trail. Its proposed route
gained popularity among mountain bikers due to its
lands in the South Mountains that FCNC has spent the
knowledge was that some of the switchbacks near the
river trails in Catawba County along the Henry Fork
could have been sold to someone who didn’t want the
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