Pettigrew State Park, located in Washington and Tyrrell counties, will receive more than $2 million in improvements to the campground through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund or PARTF.
The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority is responsible for PARTF and has just granted $17.4 million to finance nine capital improvement projects and six acquisitions of land in North Carolina state parks, according to N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.
The authority approved the funds at its meeting on Nov. 4. North Carolina Arboretum, located in Asheville, the state announced on Thursday.
“These land acquisition and park improvement projects will both expand our state parks system and repair and restore facilities and trails for the benefit of the people of North Carolina as well as visitors to our state,” N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary D. Reid Wilson said in a statement.
“We are grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Cooper for providing significantly increased investments in the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund over the last two years.”
Alongside the $1.94 million to be spent on campground improvements in Pettigrew State Park, other capital improvement projects funded by the program include historical enhancements to the buildings in the Carvers Creek and Hanging Rock state parks, a revamped drainage systems in Chimney Rock State Park, and the construction of a trailhead as well as trails along Northern Peaks State Trail at Elk Knob State Park.
Some of the approved projects will be a part of Connect NC Bond projects at Carvers Creek, Grandfather Mountain, Pettigrew, and Hanging Rock state parks. Connect N.C. Bond projects are government investments in public infrastructure like state parks, community colleges, and public security.
The park planning funding approved by the fund projects will be used to fund the management plan for parks in the state and the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Also, the funding was approved for renovations and repairs for state park facilities throughout the state.
An amount totaling $2.1 million was approved for land acquisition in 5 state parks. This includes 215 acres that will join two Mount Mitchell State Park tracts and the 58 acres needed to join Elk Knob State Park to Peak Mountain.
Amounts awarded and details on the projects are available online.