From staff reports
 LAKE LURE — A grass­roots effort to save one of the state’s most recogniz­able landmarks has been launched.
  The Friends of Hickory Nut Gorge, a group formed earlier this year with the mission of pro­tecting the beauty and integrity of the Gorge, is urging all interested citi­zens to help save Chimney Rock Park.
  The park owners put the entire property on the open market last week, listing it with Cape Fear Sotheby’s International Realty for $55 million.
  The Friends’ campaign is geared towards keeping the state of North Carolina at the bargaining table with park owners, Todd Morse and his father, Lucius Morse.
  “ We feel

strongly that the best long-term option for preserving this piece of our history is for the people of North Carolina to become the next stew­ard,” said Robert Wald, a Friends organizer. “Other options such as a public­private partnership are feasible as well, but at the top of our list is making Chimney Rock Park the centerpiece of what would be the best state park in the Southeast.” The state is already com­mitted to developing the Hickory Nut Gorge State Park. More than 3,000 acres have already been preserved in the Gorge through private donors, conservation organizations and the state. Adding Chimney Rock Park to that list would provide a permanent legacy to Morse family and to the citizens of North Carolina.
  The Friends have
 Please see Park,

launched a website at www.savechimneyrock.net and letter-writing campaign to grow support for the park’s preserva­tion and to send a clear, posi­tive message to state officials that everything possible must be done to save this treasured landscape.
  “Losing Chimney Rock Park to development would be dev­astating to the Gorge,” said fifth-generation Gorge resident, Lake Lure Mayor and Friends organizer Jim Proctor. Proctor put in extra volunteer hours to develop the Friends’ new web­site dedicated to preserving Chimney Rock. “ We understand that the decision of the Morse family to put this property on the market was not easy. We have only thanks to give to the Morses for the stewardship they have shown over the past 100 years and want to work with them and the state to find a solution that leaves a positive, lasting legacy.” The Friends are

urging all interested parties to write let­ters to the governor’s office, State House and Senate mem­bers, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation officials, the Morse family and others to work together towards preserv­ing this landmark.
  “ While the first round of negotiations with the Morses and the state were unsuccessful, we are encouraged that both parties have publicly stated they intend to continue negotia­tions,” said Friends organizer Jerry Stensland. “ We also want to thank Gov. Mike Easley, Sen.
  Walter Dalton and others for their support in placing the unprecedented $15 million spe­cial appropriation for Hickory Nut Gorge State Park land acquisition in this year’s state budget.” The Friends of Hickory Nut Gorge consists of residents of the various Gorge communities including Gerton, Bat Cave, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock Village and Fairview as well as individuals who share a love of the Gorge. The driving vision of the group is to protect the natu­ral beauty and ecological integrity of Hickory Nut Gorge.
  Other efforts already underway through the Friends organiza­tion include a concerted effort to save the area’s hemlock trees from a deadly pest, the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid.
  Contact the Friends organiza­tion via e-mail at savechimney­rock@ aol.com or call Wald at 828-625-1805; Proctor at 828­ 779-3100; or Stensland at 828­ 429-3900.
 

 By JEAN GORDON
 Daily Courier Staff Writer
 CHIMNEY ROCK — The intended sale of Chimney Rock Park has prompted a special meeting of Chimney Rock Village here at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
  The meeting will be held at the meeting room of the Chimney Rock Fire Department on Terrace Drive.
  The Council called the meet­ing to consider adopting a res­olution encouraging the state of North Carolina to take immediate action to purchase Chimney Rock Park. (See related story).
  Mayor Barbara Meliski said Council is expected to pass the resolution that asks the state to buy the

Park to preserve it and its natural habitat “per­petually for all citizens of the state, local citizens and the thousands of visitors to come to the Park to encourage the natural setting.” Meliski said the Park is vital to the area, the county and state.
  “Every morning for the past 33 years, this has been my life, our children’s life,” Meliski said. She and husband Buck, a native of Chimney Rock, live across the street from the Park and each morning she said she enjoys the beauty of the Park from her house.
  Meliski encourages the pub­lic to attend the special meet­ing.
 Contact Gordon via e-mail at jgor­don@ thedigitalcourier.com