2011 Approved funding

Funding of the following projects and programs have been approved by the board for 2011:

  • Support for Parks as Classrooms for the 2011/2012 school year ($105,000) -  Parks As Classrooms is one of the flagship programs funded each year by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation since 1998.
  • Relocation of the Park Communications Center ($200,000) – Construction of a 1,200 square foot communications center building at the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters in Asheville that will house the Parkway’s interagency dispatch operation which forms the vital link and nerve center for the system of 34 microwave transmitters and receivers at ten locations serving the entire park (plus 2 NC state parks, US Forest Service, Veteran’s Administration, and King’s Mountain NMP with vital radio service). By improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the central dispatch operation, visitors will better served through improved communication with Park staff during times of emergency or when field support is needed to provide assistance to visitors
  • Re-printing of the Parkway Outdoor Guide ($12,000) -  Reprint 100,000 copies of the Parkway Outdoor Guide which contains trail maps of the more heavily used trails/trail systems along the Parkway, and bicycling, fishing and safety information.
  • Roots of American Music program ($40,000) - Funding for the 2011 series of concerts at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Parkway.  Funding by the Foundation will allow 6 of the concerts to be free to the public.
  • Enhance Visitor Safety through EMS Program ( $10,000) - Provide an increased level of excellence in emergency medical services (EMS) for parkway visitors by supporting training and equipment above what base park operations funding is able to support.
  • Access to the NC Emergency Responder Radio System ($65,000) -  Purchase portable (handheld) radios and a base station in order to access the North Carolina Voice Interoperability Project (Plan) for Emergency Responders (VIPER).
  • Staff Development ($15,000) -  Provide training opportunities to enhance management capabilities through Crucial Conversations presented by contractor to supervisory/management staff.
  • Partnership Council ($4,000) - support administrative costs associated with effectively reestablishing the Partnership Council which convenes formal partner organizations and communities along the Parkway to make sure they are engaged and supported beyond day-to-day Parkway management activities. 
  • Tel-Net system for the Ridge District Office ($8,000) - install a Tel-Net satellite link system for the Ridge District Office to enhance employee’s duty stationed in the northern portion of the Ridge District to participate in training.
  • Design fully functional stone water fountain replacements ($2,500) - design and build a working model of the stone drinking fountains that can be used to replace the original fountains.
  • Parkway Travel ($2,000) - support internal parkway travel by purchasing blocks of rooms to facilitate larger gatherings of parkway staff when overnight travel would be required, saving travel ceiling and would allowing more face-to-face meetings of park staff and managers.
  • GPR Survey at Moses Cone Manor ($10,000) -  Conduct a ground penetrating radar survey at the rear of the Moses Cone Manor House and within the area of the former bowling alley, croquet field, and tennis court. The purpose of this survey is to determine presence or absence, and state of preservation of any sub-surface remains of the former structures prior to implementing the Moses Cone Developed Area Management Plan (DAMP).
  • Remote Wildlife Cameras ($4,200) –  Purchase remote wildlife cameras and bear-proof camera cases to monitor and assess the distribution and relative abundance of wildlife (black bear, white-tailed deer, coyote, gray fox, red fox, bobcat, etc) along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina.
  • Conversion of agricultural field to native, warm-season grasses ($3,000) -  create bird and butterfly habitat in abandoned agricultural fields through the establishment of warm season grasses in one of those fields and an increase in the diversity of wildflowers in two other parcels.
  • Cone Manor House Exhibits ($1,465) – new exhibits at the Cone Manor House.