APRIL 16, 2009 ISSUE
Blue Ridge Parkways Celebrates National Park Week, Expresses Gratitude to Local Volunteers
This Saturday, April 18, the Blue Ridge Parkway kicks off National Park Week with activities and celebrations at the Parkway Visitor Destination Center at Milepost 384. National Park Week encompasses Earth Day on April 22 and National Junior Ranger Day on April 25.
Locally, citizens of Boone and ASU students and faculty have been working to assist park rangers and provide much needed support for the Parkway. On March 21, the ASU chapter of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway assisted Parkway biologists with the removal of debris from the historic Sims Creek dam, which has been in the process of reclamation since 2008.
After the 3-foot tall, 25-foot wide dam was professionally removed, the park service could not afford to have the debris removed from the area, which was inaccessible to vehicles. So, in November 2008, chapter members used buckets, wheelbarrows and their hands to remove approximately 75 percent of the debris from the site. The group provided 50 volunteer hours over the course of two days to see the project through to completion, saving the Parkway more than $5,000.
According to Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis, park staff has dwindled significantly in the last five years. Francis said the Parkways is “almost dependent on groups like the students at ASU to help us complete basic projects. I am grateful for all the ASU has done for the Parkway. ”
ASU Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a student-run club dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway. Members seek to promote the natural beauty, ecological vitality and cultural distinctiveness of the Blue Ridge Parkway through volunteer services and special events.
“And now, thanks to this group, we are very pleased to once again have Sims Creek as a free-flowing stream above Sims Pond,” said Bob Cherry, wildlife biologist for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
This Saturday, a variety of activities are available at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Visitors Destination Center, including a Green Gardening Practices talk by Alison Arnold from the North Carolina Arboretum at 10:00 a.m., a performance by the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) String Band at 11:00 a.m. and a presentation on Birds of Prey by Steve Longnecker at 1:00 p.m.
For more information, contact Michele Maertens at 828-350-3822, extension 207, or Amy Hollifield at 828-298-5330, extension 0.
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