Park Has Lots to Be Grateful For

The staff at Lake James State Park, and all the future visitors to come, have a lot of thank-you cards to send as 2021 comes to a close. With an annual operating budget of around $775,000, that doesn’t include emergency and new equipment purchases, it takes a significant financial investment to keep the park running at the high standard folks deserve. That doesn’t leave a lot leftover to do the extras that can mean so much when it comes to visitor experience.

Luckily, Lake James State Park has a mountain of support from the private community to fill in the gaps, and it has never been more evident than now.

For starters, the Rostan Family Foundation of Valdese gave $45K in November for the purchase of a new excavator. The machine has been ordered and we are awaiting delivery. The machine will be invaluable to Lake James State Park’s multi-use trails and fire management programs. The Foundation has supported the park since it’s 2010 expansion into Burke County with the opening of the Paddy’s Creek Area. Additionally, it has partially funded the boat-in campsites on Long Arm Peninsula and the outdoor amphitheater at the new Visitor Center.

Longtime support from Duke Energy continued with a recently awarded grant to the Friends of Lake James State Park for $9,000, which will go towards a variety of educational equipment and partially fund a small picnic shelter near the new Cove Bridge. The park rangers who do interpretive educational programs are looking forward to adding a field microscope, an orienteering kit and an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle to their available assets.

These items will be used with school groups and public programs and will add a new and exciting dimension to learning at the park. Duke also donated $7,600 for the purchase of two new E-bikes earlier this summer. The bikes will be used by park staff to assist in emergency response and trail inspections and maintenance. Duke has also been a consistent donor to Lake James State Park over the years by awarding annual grants for RiverFest, donating a boat dock and boat house, and a sizable monetary amount towards the exhibits hall in the new Visitor Center.

A host of generous donors stepped up to completely fund the Cove Bridge picnic shelter. In addition to the money set aside by Duke Energy, benefactors include the Cantrells, the Bradleys, the Costellos, the Whitfields, Foothills Conservancy of NC and Brantley Construction.

Continuing at the grassroots level, the Quaker Meadows Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution members have been working tirelessly to restore the Obeth Cemetery. Their efforts to remove trees and brush, and clean and repair numerous headstones have resulted in a rebirth of the historic site. Andrea Kiser has spearheaded the endeavor and has raised more than $16,000 in just over a year to pay for removal of more than two dozen large trees and have the stumps ground up. She has personally volunteered more than 200 hours. The group as a whole has racked up 865 hours over the last year.

And finally, the landscaping around the park got a fresh dressing of mulch, thanks to our neighbors across NC 126 in the 1780 community. Benthos LLC donated $600 in locally-sourced mulch for the native plant gardens at the Paddy’s Creek day use area.