The McAdenville Take-Out Dock is Temporarily Closed
May 9, 2013Buffalo Creek Preserve Trail Opens June 1 on National Trails Day
May 15, 2013The Carolina Thread Trail Governing Board recently awarded two implementation grants, totaling $130,000, for community projects along the Carolina Thread Trail (The Thread). Implementation grants provide funding to communities to assist with trail corridor planning, land acquisition and construction of trails.
The grant award amount, community information and the use of the grants follow:
• Anson County – $75,000: Grant money awarded to Anson County will be used to fund the acquisition, design and construction of an approximately three acre canoe/kayak launch site on the Rocky River in Anson County. The launch site will be located adjacent to Plank Road in northern Anson County and will have available off-road parking. This site will be located on the Anson/Stanly County border and will provide blueway connectivity both upstream and downstream.
• Catawba Lands Conservancy – $55,000 (Iredell County): Funds awarded to Catawba Lands Conservancy will be used to complete the design, permitting and construction of a trailhead/parking lot, as well as up to six pedestrian bridges, for a two-mile trail segment located along the South Yadkin River in northern Iredell County, adjacent to the Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest Council’s Dale Earnhardt Environmental Leadership Campus at Oak Springs. This trail is expected to be completed in the fall of 2013. A conservation easement now permanently protects 358 acres of the 673-acre Oak Springs property, protecting it forever from future development. Oak Springs is a regional destination for Girl Scouts and provides camp activities and educational experiences for girls from Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Rowan, Stanly, Union and York, SC counties. On average, about 200-300 girls participate in activities every weekend from March through November.
These grants are awarded as part of The Thread’s quarterly implementation grant cycle. Awards from The Thread help communities build trails that will add to the 115 miles of trails that are currently open to the public throughout The Thread’s 15-county region. Both Anson and Iredell counties have adopted a county-wide greenway master plan, making the county, cities and towns within Anson and Iredell counties eligible for grant funding from The Thread.
To date, The Thread has awarded more than $7.3 million in catalytic grants to communities and trail projects that are a part of The Thread. In addition to privately funded grants, these awards include grants from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund for land acquisition.
Applications for the remaining 2013 implementation grant cycles are due August 9 and October 18, 2013. For more information, visit carolinathreadtrail.org or contact Carolina Thread Trail Grants and Community Coordinator Randi Gates at 704-376-2556 (x217) or randi@carolinathreadtrail.org.