Dear friends,

I wanted to share a letter we submitted to news organizations serving our region. The purpose of the letter is to encourage support for the Governor’s Parks and Trails for Health initiative, also known as “PATH.” The Governor proposes to spend $20 million to address needs at our State Parks and Trails caused by the recent record visitation levels. The proposed appropriation will come from the $900 million that the State will receive from the federal CARES ACT. This proposal deserves support. Please read my letter and, if you are inclined, please take action to support our State Parks and State Trails. The Legislature will vote on how to spend the CARES ACT funds either tomorrow or Thursday, so the time to act is now.

Thank you,

Charlie

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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which will permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Once signed into law, the GAOA will provide funding to public agencies to purchase land with conservation and recreational access value throughout the country.

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In a collaborative community effort, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Blue Ridge Conservancy (BRC) will create public access to the future Middle Fork Greenway as part of the bridge replacement project on Aho Road between Blowing Rock and Boone.

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Jackie Kocar understands the importance of wild spaces. That’s why she donated a conservation easement on her 18 acres of undeveloped land in Wilkes County to Blue Ridge Conservancy in 2007. To further her commitment to conservation, in 2019 she purchased and protected 8.87 adjoining acres to act as a buffer for the existing wildlife habitat so that it may remain undisturbed forever.

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