Bill > S329

Introduced Session

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SOUTH FORK PASSAGE STATE TRAIL AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS ADDITION TO THE STATE PARKS SYSTEM. Whereas, the South Fork of the Catawba River (South Fork) has rich cultural, historical, natural, economic, and recreational value to the people of this region and North Carolina; and Whereas, the South Fork was the site of the Battle of Ramsour's Mill during the American Revolution, in which local patriots, outnumbered more than 3-to-1, defeated a Loyalist militia; and Whereas, during the Civil War, a detachment of Union soldiers marched to destroy the Pinhook Mill on the banks of the South Fork, but upon discovering the mill owner was a childhood neighbor of the soldiers' commanding officer, the mill was spared and only the adjacent bridge across the South Fork was burned, leaving only the bridge's stone pillars which still stand in the South Fork today; and Whereas, the South Fork generated the hydropower for the region's textile and industrial boom in the 19th and 20th centuries, and many of the historic structures from that era remain today along the riverbanks; and Whereas, there are currently 3,600 acres of protected land along the banks of the South Fork River, and these lands and the river are home to rare, diverse, and ecologically important animals and plant species, including bald eagles, bigleaf magnolias, seagreen darters, bog turtles, monarch butterflies, Schweinitz's sunflowers, and Santee chubs; and Whereas, the Metropolitan Statistical Area through which the South Fork River flows is home to 2.7 million people, which is 25% of the population of North Carolina; and Whereas, this rapidly growing region has no State-designated recreational facilities; and Whereas, the South Fork would connect to the Wilderness Gateway State Trail, a State trail in Catawba, Burke, McDowell, and Rutherford Counties, which connects to the Overmountain Victory State Trail and Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail; and Whereas, 15 miles of land trail and 10 miles of paddle trail are already completed; Now, therefore,

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Ted Alexander (R)*,  Mark Hollo (R)*,  Brad Overcash (R)*, 

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (on 06/10/2025)

Official Document