A GIFT FROM THE LATE CHARLES PICKLESIMER
DuPont State Recreational Forest is set to expand by more than 700 acres this year thanks to a generous gift from its next-door neighbor.
The 10,400-acre forest straddling the Henderson/Transylvania county border has been gifted a 753-acre parcel of land near Cascade Lake on the Transylvania County side. A portion of the land can be accessed via Cascade Lake Road, but the majority remains heavily forested and undeveloped.
The late Charles Pickelsimer Jr. gifted nearly half of his 1,576-acre estate to the state for preservation. An additional 59 acres was gifted to Brevard College.
The remaining 726 acres will be retained by the Pickelsimer estate, which encompasses Cascade Lake, the dam and Cascade Lake Recreation Area, which remains closed.
Pickelsimer, who died in 2011, gifted the land in his will through the nonprofit Conservation Fund. A lengthy legal dispute ensued between his children over parts of the will, which delayed the land transfer for years.
Last week, the donation was officially accepted by the North Carolina Council of State, a key step needed to become part of the forest.
Bill Holman, the Raleigh-based North Carolina director of the Conservation Fund, said talks with Pickelsimer began 20 years ago when the Conservation Fund was working with DuPont Corp. and the state to establish DuPont State Recreational Forest. Pickelsimer was very interested in having his Cascade Lake property become its own state park or part of DuPont.
Holman said the parcel has an estimated land value of $4.1 million.
Jason Guidry, supervisor of DuPont State Recreational Forest, said 560,000 people visited DuPont last year. That’s about 80,000 to 90,000 fewer people than the year prior, but still well above the yearly average for the last 10 years.
The highest visitation occurs during summer, with most of the focus on the forest’s waterfalls and lakes. This property doesn’t have a lot of those same attractions, Guidry said, and he doesn’t see it having an immediate impact on visitor experience. Nevertheless, the addition is more than welcome.
The Clean Water Management Trust Fund has funded the survey that will look at the land’s natural heritage, sensitive communities, endangered species and plant species and then provide more baseline information needed to determine what can go on the property.
The Pickelsimer donation is one of two planned expansions for DuPont. In 2015, DuPont Corp. gifted the 476-acre “donut hole” in the center of the forest where the former industrial site once stood. But that land must undergo environmental remediation before it can be transferred to the forest.
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