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Town of Lansing Receives $282,500 Grant for Creeper Trail Park Expansion Project

By Josiah Clark

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund has awarded the Town of Lansing a $282,500 grant to fund land acquisition ventures for the Historic Lansing Creeper Trail park expansion project. In addition to the grant received from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund last year, this grant will help Lansing with the matching funds that were needed.

explore-lansing-logoAccording to Town Clerk Marcy Little, efforts to expand the Lansing Creeper Trail began in 2013, the same year the grant application was filed and sent to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. She said the grant was received last April.

“The grant money will be used to expand the Lansing Creeper Trail and make the park 66 acres,” said Little.

She also confirmed that Lansing was able to secure the grant with the aid of Walter Clark of the Blue Ridge Conservancy, who helped the town secure valuable recommendations and prepare the CWMTF grant application.

The Blue Ridge Conservancy is a land trust protecting 20,000 acres in 7 counties in northwest North Carolina with a mission of “working with willing landowners and local communities to permanently protect land and water resources with agricultural, ecological, cultural, recreational and scenic value in northwest North Carolina.”

As stated on its website, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund was established in 1996 with a goal of providing “grant assistance to conservation nonprofits, local governments and state agencies for the protection of surface waters in North Carolina.”

Among the reasons the CWMTF may award grant money include: “to enhance or restore degraded waters,” “to contribute toward a network of riparian buffers and greenways for environmental, educational and recreational benefits,” and “to acquire land that represents the ecological diversity of North Carolina.”

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is located in Raleigh. For more information, call 919-707-9120, or visit their website.

The Blue Ridge Conservancy is located in Boone. For more information, call 828-264-2511 or visit their website.