§ 113A-35.1. Components of system; management plan; acquisition of land and easements; inclusion in national system.
§ 113A‑35.1. Components of system; management plan; acquisition of land and easements;inclusion in national system.
(a) That segment of the south fork of the New River extendingfrom its confluence with Dog Creek in Ashe County downstream through Ashe andAlleghany Counties to its confluence with the north fork of the New River andthe main fork of the New River in Ashe and Alleghany Counties downstream to theVirginia State line shall be a scenic river area and shall be included in theNorth Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers System.
The Department shall prepare and implement a management plan for thisriver section. This management plan shall recognize and provide for theprotection of the existing undeveloped scenic and pastoral features of theriver. Furthermore, it shall specifically provide for continued use of thelands adjacent to the river for normal agricultural activities, including, butnot limited to, cultivation of crops, raising of cattle, growing of trees andother practices necessary to these agricultural pursuits.
For purposes of implementing this section and the management plan, theDepartment may acquire lands or interests in lands, provide for protection ofscenic values as described in G.S. 113A‑38, and provide for publicaccess. Easements obtained for the purpose of implementing this section and themanagement plan shall not abridge the water rights being exercised on May 26,1975.
Should the Governor seek inclusion of this river segment in theNational System of Wild and Scenic Rivers by action of the Secretary ofInterior, such inclusion shall be at no cost to the federal government, asprescribed in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and therefore shall beunder the terms described in this section of the North Carolina Wild and ScenicRivers Act and in the management plan developed pursuant thereto.
(b) The Department shall prepare an annual status report on theprogress made in implementing the management plan required pursuant tosubsection (a) of this section and the progress in implementing the managementplan submitted by the Department in support of the request to the Secretary ofthe Interior for the river's inclusion in the National System of Wild andScenic Rivers. The status report shall evaluate the extent to which currentimplementation of the management plans has in fact maintained the river's free‑flowingstate and protected the scenic conditions of the river and the adjacent landsconsistent with the purpose of this Article. If implementation of eithermanagement plan is incomplete at the time the report is filed, the Secretaryshall submit a schedule for implementing the remainder of the plan. The statusreport shall be filed with the General Assembly no later than January 15 ofeach year, beginning in 1990. (1973, c. 879; 1975, c. 404; 1977, c. 555; c. 771, s. 4; 1985, c. 129,s. 3; 1987, c. 827, s. 127; 1989, c. 654, s. 2; c. 765; 1999‑147, s. 1.)