[bizutch]

Please go to this planning session. The land acquired for the Chimney Rock State Park takes up a MASSIVE amount of the Hickory Nut Gorge and downhill and all mountain opportunities galore could be available.

May 26th is the date!!!! Open all day for input.

Here is the link:
http://www.chimneyrockpark.com/events/new.php#N186

And here is the email I just got. Pretty messed up that the public has a week to respond???

State Master Plan Public Input Session
You've asked us how you can give input regarding Chimney Rock State Park's Master Plan, and now the opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions is here. The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation has announced the public planning session for Chimney Rock State Park will be held Wednesday, May 26 at the Lake Lure Town Hall. Citizens are invited to visit the drop-in session anytime from 10am until 7pm.

The input session, part of the master planning phase, will allow citizens to review proposed design alternatives for the state park, ask questions and offer comments to officials of the state parks system and Greenways Inc., a Durham-based environmental planning and landscape architecture firm responsible for completing the plan.

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. It is meant to be an organic document, evolving as the park grows and as knowledge is gained about a park's natural resources and public use.

The NC General Assembly authorized Chimney Rock State Park in 2005, and more than 4,300 acres in Rutherford, Polk, Henderson and Buncombe counties have been acquired in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina and others. In 2007, the former Chimney Rock tourist destination was added to the park and offers the principal current public access.

The drop-in planning session will involve a workstation format allowing citizens to attend at any time during the day and spend as much time as necessary to review and discuss design alternatives. Proposed designs will also be available beginning May 26 at www.greenways.com/chimneyrock. Written comments may be submitted through June 23 either by using an online comment sheet or by mail to:

General Management Plan Coordinator
NC Division of Parks and Recreation
1615 MSC
Raleigh NC 27699-1615

 

[bizutch]

Would it help if I said there are MASSIVE....I mean MASSIVE sections of shuttleable DH opportunities if we could get bikes in that park???

 

[LOOnatic]

Yes. Yes it does.

 

[OffCamber]

I emailed them.

 

[OffCamber]

My response was kicked back telling me to send it to this site.
http://www.greenways.com/chimneyrock
Then this looks like where the responses go?
chuck.flink@greenways.com
I'll see what response I get.

 

[TryFour]

I'll send them some feedback right now.

 

[bizutch]

Here are the proposed Master Plans! Option 3 has MTB trails in the Shumont area, but is a real head scratcher as to where those trails lie! Going down to Lake Lure at 5:30 to give my input.

Click the link and check it out!
http://www.greenways.com/chimneyrock_download.html

 

[FCLinder]

I brought this up in our last SORBA meeting with one of the head Directors for SORBA. Have known about this opportunity for a while. UPState SORBA would like to help come up with a master plan, but we are also working another Master Plan for a very large State Park in Northern SC.

Does anyone have good contact names up there that SORBA can talk to? If so, please pass them on to me and I will make sure one of the Directors at SORBA contacts them.

Other than that I would love to help plan trails up there. Would be some sick trails!!!!!!

Cecil

 

[bizutch]

Good news from the meetings. 2 of the 3 plans had MTB. Woody gives some good info on what we have to go to make sure. Bottom line...you HAVE to submit a comment online to be heard. Please do. here is his post that is VERY informative on how this process goes down.

Some of you may hate Woody for whatever reason, but please suck it up and read the post:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=6960035&postcount=34

 

[bizutch]

Please help by filling out the form. This is the last day for open public input on the Chimney Rock proposals. Please comment and be sure to indicate that option 1 (conservation option), should include MTB b/c of it's drasticly low impact (lower than all other forms of trail use).

Click here to read up:
http://www.greenways.com/chimneyrock.html

Then click on the top left the yellow words "Online Comment Form" or click here and sbmit. Be SURE TO MENTION DH SPECIFIC trail options with specific signage. If kayaks can have input/exit on public lands, we can too.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZkPpgyZgDyjpKSU/d0kAIHDjqnq2XZ/pROQficP4FNk=&

 

[bizutch]

Looks like the city of Lake Lure is getting in on the park game. Notice the distinct mention of multi-use trails for MTB!!!

I was told the city plans to tie it into the entire State Park trail system. So if the city puts MTB into this segment and the State Park approves MTB trails (Park system guidelines require the MTB network to be a minimum of 10 miles), it's good, good news for bikes.

Check the story here:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100706/NEWS01/100706025