Press Release
From North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources:
RALEIGH – To accommodate a major stream restoration of Horne Creek in Surry County, Pilot Mountain State Park will close the Bean Shoals Access at the northern side of its Yadkin River section beginning Monday, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.
The southern portion (Ivy Bluff Access) of the river section will not be affected.
The closure is expected to last until April 1, and will immediately affect the access entrance road and trails as well as group campsites, which will be relocated farther from the creek floodplain. As the project progresses, the state park expects to reopen some trails for hike-in and equestrian access on weekends. The Corridor Trail that connects the Yadkin River section to the main component of Pilot Mountain State Park will remain open.
The stream restoration is designed to improve the Yadkin River watershed by reducing sediment delivered by Horne Creek. Over the years, stormwater runoff and erosion have scoured Horne Creek’s banks and deepened its stream channel, removing the stream’s connection to its natural floodplain. Heavy equipment will be used to reconfigure and stabilize the stream channel with timber, rock and native vegetation.
The restoration project on 3,200 linear feet of the stream is supported by a $375,000 grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund and a matching $25,000 grant from the N.C. Division of Water Resources. Pilot View Resource Conservation and Development of Winston-Salem submitted the trust fund grant application with support from the Surry Soil and Water Conservation District and the Pilot Mountain State Park Advisory Committee.
Staff at the state park and volunteers contributed to the project by inventorying aquatic species in the stream and floodplain, restoring warm season grasses in surrounding fields and installing interpretive signage as well as trail and picnic area construction and relocation.
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