Parkway seeks input for Moses H. Cone plan

The Blue Ridge Parkway seeks comment on proposed plans for the Moses H. Cone park near Blowing Rock. Seen here: the 13,000-square foot Flat Top Manor House, currently 20-room, 13,000 square foot mansion built in 1901 in the grand Colonial Revival style. The Manor is now the home of the Parkway Craft Center. Photo courtesy of the Blue Ridge Heritage Area

PRESS RELEASE

Parkway Seeks Input for Moses H. Cone Developed Area Management Plan

(Asheville)—The Blue Ridge Parkway (Parkway) is seeking public input, through February 9, 2015, on an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Moses H. Cone Developed Area Management Plan (DAMP). The DAMP would guide the future development and management of the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park (Memorial Park) [near Blowing Rock, N.C.]. The purpose of this EA is to describe the affected environment and analyze potential impacts associated with a no action alternative and two action alternatives.

Recommendations within the EA to be implemented would impact the Memorial Park within the lands administered by the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Memorial Park was originally known as Flat Top Manor and was one of North Carolina’s premier country estates. Built by textile magnate Moses H. Cone and his wife, Bertha, at the turn of the 20th century, the estate features some 26 miles of carriage roads, manmade lakes, remnant apple orchards and a 23-room manor house. The National Park Service acquired the estate in 1950, managing it as a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Those who wish to review and comment on this document may do so by visiting the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/conedamp. Even though using this website is recommended, written comments may also be submitted to: Blue Ridge Parkway, ATTN: Suzette Molling, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC 28803. Comments must be sent by February 9. Ideas and concerns expressed by those who comment will be used to prepare the final proposal and impact analysis.

Comments are typically treated as a public record and made available for public review. Individuals may request that the National Park Service withhold their name and address from disclosure. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowable by law.

Comments will also be accepted at a public meeting to be held on January 15, 2015. The public meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Blowing Rock Club House in Blowing Rock, NC. Members of the public may stop by at any time during these hours to meet with Parkway staff and provide comments.

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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