Crossing the line

Durham, Orange work together on park that bridges border between counties

Also see:
2004 Outstanding County Program Award winners

By David Hunt
Orange County Deputy Clerk/Information Specialist

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in December, Little River Regional Park and Natural Area officially opened to the public. A partnership in conservation between Durham and Orange counties, the 391-acre park straddles the Durham-Orange county line with 255 acres in Durham and 136 acres in Orange.

Turning lemons into lemonade

From left to right: Commissioners Moses Carey (Orange), Ellen Reckhow (Durham), Becky Heron (Durham) and Barry Jacobs (Orange) work hand-in-hand to cut the ribbon to open the park. (Photo courtesy Orange County)

In 1999, a 178-acre parcel in the northeast corner of Orange County was identified as a possible landfill site. After much deliberation, the site was rejected. However, the deliberations prompted Orange County officials to discuss locating a park adjacent to the site.

Durham County was interested in the protection of this land since it was upstream from the Little River Reservoir – the City of Durham’s drinking water supply – and was identified as having high habitat values. Furthermore, protecting this land would help to support preservation of open space within a priority area for the county. Durham began negotiating with the Triangle Community Foundation for the purchase of a portion of the property.

Orange County also recognized the value of the acquisition and the conservation of open space. The purchase of the property would support Orange County’s Little River watershed protection zoning (adopted in 1994), which limits development activities to protect Durham’s downstream water supply.

The power of partnerships

Now a team, Durham and Orange counties jointly moved ahead in negotiations with the Triangle Community Foundation about purchasing the 391-acre tract, which had been donated by George Newton for philanthropic purposes. (The adjacent 178-acre tract had already been purchased by adjacent landowners and was no longer available.)

In the fall of 2000, Durham and Orange counties formed an advisory committee to help evaluate the property in order to make recommendations on use and design of the park facilities. The advisory committee held seven meetings, during which members toured the park property to evaluate the property assets and site limitations, received input from different user group representatives, and gathered citizen input on desired park uses and facilities. Their final report was presented to both boards of commissioners.

With a four-way partnership that included two non-profits (the Triangle Land Conservancy and Eno River Association), Durham and Orange counties jointly applied for and received grants from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund ($359,000), the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund ($250,000) and the Land & Water Conservation Fund ($262,000). With the help of the grants and a joint fund-raising campaign by the Triangle Land Conservancy and Eno River Association that raised $170,000, the counties purchased the land for $1.015 million in July 2001.

Durham County applied for an additional grant from the N.C. Recreation Trails Program for construction of a hard-surfaced walking trail (compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act) for the park and received an award of $50,000. Durham County awarded a matching grant of $4,150 to the Durham Orange Mountain Bike Organization (DOMBO) for construction and maintenance of mountain bike trails at Little River Park.

It was during this period that the counties undertook the ultimate recycling project. A house that had been damaged by Hurricane Floyd was repaired and moved from Chapel Hill to the park to serve as the caretaker’s residence.

The fruits of their labor

Located off Guess Road at the Durham-Orange county border, the park provides a natural habitat for land and water wildlife, a stable ecosystem featuring a diverse selection of native vegetation, and an area rich in American history.

The park offers 391 acres open to the community, 15 of which are developed with picnic shelters, a playground, park office, visitor parking and restrooms. Over seven miles of hiking trails and an additional seven miles of mountain bike trails weave through the property.

Both counties fund ongoing maintenance equally. The Orange County Recreation and Parks Department manages the park.

For more information on the program, contact Jane Korest, Durham County open space and real estate manager, at (919) 560-7955.