State to buy Morton land

The family continues as stewards of Grandfather Mountain in a deal that will preserve the tract

North Carolina is buying the nearly 6,000-foot Grandfather Mountain peak and about 2,600 surrounding acres of wilderness, preserving an iconic natural treasure enjoyed by generations.

The $12 million deal also gives the state a conservation easement on the 600-acre park area, popular with visitors for its Mile High Swinging Bridge, nature museum and animal habitat that includes the mountain's beloved bears. The deal, to be announced Monday, is meant to protect the land and its abundant wildlife and vegetation from development.

That was a lifelong mission of Hugh Morton, who inherited the mountain in 1952 and transformed the state's distinctive peak into a leading tourist attraction while preserving its wild beauty. The family will continue operating the park through a new nonprofit group that could further enhance conservation efforts, his grandson, Crae Morton, said Saturday.

"Grandfather Mountain is protected for good, over and done, period," said the younger Morton, who is president of Grandfather Mountain Inc. "That's the way it should be. Grandfather Mountain is too significant to have any potential for anyone ever to ruin it."

Gov. Mike Easley, who enjoyed childhood vacations at the mountain, will join the Morton family Monday morning for the official announcement of the newest state park.

"It's really kind of mind-boggling," he told the Observer on Saturday. "It will all be preserved forever. This is great for the state."

Grandfather Mountain Inc. owns both tracts, the park and the large backcountry wilderness with many trails and popular hiking spots such as the Attic Window Peak and MacRae Peak. The land abuts the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest, about 100 miles northwest of Charlotte.

The land is home to dozens of rare and endangered species, regularly attracts scientists to study its ecology, and is a globally recognized nature preserve.

Crae Morton, 36, said the family sought the deal to enhance preservation efforts, not because of business woes. He also said that the family had not entertained deals from developers.

"No way, never," he said. "That never was an option, and that never will be an option. There was no pressure in that way."

His grandfather, a tireless park promoter, never exploited it as commercially as he might have and battled the federal government for years to prevent the parkway from slicing across the mountain. His grandson said: "There's a place for condos and carousels, but Grandfather Mountain is not the place."

The Morton family is unanimous in its support of the deal, Crae Morton said.

"It's an emotional satisfaction to know we're working on something more important and bigger than we are," said Catherine Morton, the park's marketing director and daughter of Hugh Morton. "He would be very happy to know Grandfather Mountain is going to stay the way it is forever and ever."

A plum property

The Grandfather package came together in a few months. Easley said an appraisal isn't complete, but that he's been told the purchase price is well below the value.

"It's the Morton family trying to preserve the integrity of the mountain for future generations," he said.

Deal details, including the exact boundaries, are still being finalized. But the state will own about 2,600 acres, roughly half in Avery County, more than 700 acres in Watauga County and 350 in Caldwell. Much of that already is under conservation easement as are hundreds of surrounding acres, a legacy of Hugh Morton.

The state will use money already available in a reserve fund for purchasing park and other land for preservation. Easley said he doesn't anticipate any roadblocks to closing a deal that gives the state a plum property.