Programs

PRESERVATION OF THE PARKWAY’S SCENIC QUALITY

Every view from the Blue Ridge Parkway has been scored qualitatively and quantitatively for its aesthetic quality. Views, which are pastoral and contain water features (ponds, streams), typically receive higher scores; whereas, views with encroaching development receive lower scores. This information is very important as a management tool for parkway administration and Foundation land conservancy partners. These scores help establish priority for those properties which may be considered threatened and endangered. Funds provided by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation helped establish a national model for view area management which has been adopted by many conservation groups, including the Appalachian Trail Conference.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Moses H. Cone Memorial Park has been considered by some as the “crown jewel of the Blue Ridge Parkway — a diamond in the rough”. Since the estate was conveyed to the Blue Ridge Parkway by the trustees of the Moses Cone Hospital in 1950, the park service has only been able to provide threshold maintenance and interpretive services because of limited funding. The Foundation’s role now as a facilitator of private philanthropy has resulted in modest restoration and preservation projects such as the restoration of the historic fence balustrade, restoration of the fire/observation tower, and partial restoration of the China Orchard. The Foundation is currently providing funds for the Cone Developed Area Management Plan which will become the blueprint that polishes the diamond which will indeed become the Parkway’s crown jewel.

CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDING

National Park Service experiences teach us that environment directly impacts the quality of a visitor’s experience. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has provided funding for two capital improvement projects — the first being the conversion of a covered pavilion at Waterrock Knob to a full service visitor contact station; and the second, the expansion of the 1956 dated Museum of North Carolina Minerals. All the projects have had multiple partners which have contributed to superlative improvements that the visitor can greatly enjoy.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

The Blue Ridge Parkway by legislative mandate must “conserve, interpret, and exhibit the unique natural and cultural resources of the central and southern Appalachian Mountains”. Rigorous compliance examinations are made of the environment when new construction is anticipated, even trail construction. Inventories are made of existing plants and animals with particular attention to T&E (threatened and endangered) species. The Foundation has provided funding which would not otherwise be available to study the impact of extending the Mountains to Sea Trail near Waterrock Knob. The species in question were the saw whet owl and flying squirrel. Construction was allowed after completed research funded by the Foundation.

WATERSHED PRESERVATION AND WATER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT

The Blue Ridge Parkway has over 450 parcels of land which are devoted to livestock or crop agriculture leases. Until recent years, grazing stock was allowed unrestricted access to streams and springs. However, this activity causes local turbidity that diminished vertebrate and invertebrate animal populations. With funding from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, grazing stock is being restricted by new fencing, riparian buffers, and carefully constructed cattle crossings.

EDUCATION OUTREACH – PARKS AS CLASSROOMS

36,000 young minds touched by the Blue Ridge Parkway… This did not happen all at once but one classroom at a time in over 1,800 classroom visits by Parkway rangers during last year’s winter months.

Parks As Classrooms is one of the flagship programs funded by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. This curriculum based program which is designed to instill values of Parkway protection and preservation satisfies the national standards of learning in all 29 Virginia and North Carolina Parkway counties where the program is presented. Park educators and administrators agree that this program is one of the best investments that the Parkway can make in the future of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

ENDOWMENT AND ESTATE PLANNING

In 1997, the first endowment gift was received by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The endowments (corpus untouched) build a pool of charitable assets that will benefit the Parkway through the Foundation’s projects and programs by building long-term discretionary income. These endowment funds are currently placed with various community foundations along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Community foundations build and strengthen communities by creating opportunities for donors locally to meet critical needs. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation believes in investing in communities which are the catalysts for improvement in urban and rural life.