A total of 454 acres of significant natural resources will be added to South Mountains State Park and an environmental education center designed for people with disabilities will be developed under an agreement between North Carolina’s lead health and environmental agencies, state officials said recently.
The Department of Health and Human Resources will transfer 454 acres in southern Burke County, known as the School for the Deaf Watershed, to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as part of a memorandum of agreement signed by DHHS Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom and DENR Secretary Bill Ross.
The two departments will collaborate on the protection of the natural resources and the development of an environmental education facility, which is to include universal-design features. DHHS will advise DENR on accessibility standards and needs as part of the design and development process. Both agencies have committed to seek funding to support the design and construction of the year-round facility.
The property is no longer used for water supply and has limited use for the School of the Deaf. It is situated on the northwest boundary of the Clear Creek section of South Mountains State Park and offers ready access to both that park, an area near U.S 64, and the Henry Fork section to the southeast.
The property is home to a number of rare plant species. For these reasons, the watershed was identified as a desired addition to the state park during the park’s General Management Plan review in the 1990s, DENR officials said. The management plan identified the need for an environmental education facility in this region of the state and the potential for siting it in the Clear Creek section of the park.
With the 454-acre acquisition, South Mountains State Park, the largest park in the system, will grow to 17,369 acres.