Thursday, July 27, 2006

Blowing Rock resort to be 'wilderness-rich'

"It's become an old story in the generally unspoiled mountains of western North Carolina: Developer buys up large tract of land and marks out plots for yet another upscale community aimed at luring retirees and second homeowners to the region[, writes the Associated Press].

"But the ambitious Laurelmor development planned for Wilkes and Watauga counties comes with a balm for any buyer inclined to feel guilt over the impact of development. The project's developer, Orlando, Fla.-based Ginn Co., intends to protect at least a third of the 6,000-acre project with perpetual conservation easements.

" 'It's being done extremely well' for a development of its type, James Coman III, executive director of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust, said Tuesday, as Ginn Co. CEO Bobby Ginn announced his company's conservation plan. Coman's group is to record and monitor the easements, which will protect large pockets of the Laurelmor property from anything but low-impact recreational uses."

You can read more here.

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