RAMPING UP
Published 8:36 pm Friday, August 9, 2013
Boaters’ access area dedicated
County and state officials made creek side outing Friday, as the Blounts Creek Boating Access Area was officially opened to the public.
Representatives from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission joined county employees and commissioners to cut the ribbon on the new boat ramps, parking lot and fishing pier built by a joint venture.
“This is an example of what can be done when local and state government work together, “ said Erik Christofferson, division chief of WRC’s engineering services. “We’re proud to be able to provide this to the public.”
Christofferson’s division has renovated 80 similar sites in the past five years, through what has been called the best boating access program in the nation.
“This resource we have right here—we all have a right to access it,” Christofferson said. “It’s not just for a privileged few.”
The public access area is located on the site of an old fishing camp on Blounts Creek, where Blounts Creek resident Bob Daw would rent a cabin annually and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Mitch St.Clair’s grandfather would taken him fishing when he was a boy.
“A lot of folks have a lot of good memories of this place,” Christofferson said.
When the creek-side property came up for sale, the county stepped in to purchase the land with the intention of creating a spot where anyone could have water access. The state then used boat registration fees, excise taxes on fishing gear and other sources to fund the $384,000 project, according to Christofferson.
Almost four years later, the parking lot was full of trucks with empty boat trailers during the brief ceremony and by the time the crowd was breaking up, two local residents had set up on the pier to fish the afternoon away.
Beaufort County Commissioner Jerry Langley is a fan of the county-state enterprise that opened shoreline to residents, calling it the “beginning of something great.”
“Everybody should have access to our greatest asset: our waters,” Langley said. “I hope and pray we can continue to do things like this.”
Commissioner Hood Richardson said the project worked so well, he’s already looking at another site, this one on the North side of the Pamlico River, in the eastern part of the county.
“I support more public access and the good thing about this is it came from grant money — it didn’t cost the local taxpayers much,” Richardson said. “If we can get enough grant money, we’ll do another one.”