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State budget includes funds for new park developments in the High Country

The Blue Ridge Conservancy will receive a $950,000 appropriation from the state budget to develop the Boone Gorge Park, and $100,000 for the development of Paddy Mountain Park in Ashe County. This photo shows land where the Boone Gorge Park will be built in Watauga County. Photo courtesy: Blue Ridge Conservancy

Two new parks will be built in the High Country thanks to the latest state budget. The Blue Ridge Conservancy is getting more than a million dollars to move forward with the projects.

The new state budget provides more funding for the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. There are also two separate allocations for the Boone Gorge Park in Watauga County and Paddy Mountain Park in Ashe County.

A bulk of the money will be used for Boone Gorge Park. It's the next phase in a major project known as the Middle Fork Greenway. So far, two miles of the Greenway have been completed and it will eventually connect Blowing Rock to Boone.

Charlie Brady with the Blue Ridge Conservancy says this stand-alone park will play an important role in the community.

"It will have a paved hiking path along the perimeter of a large bottom area that was agriculture in that region," says Brady. "It will also provide public access for trout fishermen in that section of the Middle Fork of the New [River], so we are excited to protect that permanently for public access.”

Brady says he hopes to secure more local funding for both parks. If all goes as planned, construction is expected to begin next year on the Ashe County development and in 2024 for the one in Watauga County.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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