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October 21 - Special Update

Council of State calls special meeting Monday

The North Carolina Council of State has scheduled a special meeting for Monday afternoon at 4 pm to consider invoking eminent domain on the 2200 acre tract inside the DuPont State Forest. Unless developer Jim Anthony makes a dramatic concession, we expect the issue to be decided at that time. WLOS-TV reports that Anthony plans to attend the Monday meeting.

State explains breakdown of negotiations

Both Anthony and State representatives gave their interpretations to the news media yesterday (see media links below for definitive articles by Harrison Metzger of the Hendersonville Times News). In the article, Don Hobart, legal counsel to the Attorney General's office confirmed our suspicions about the reason for the breakdown of negotiations: "What Mr. Anthony has not explained is how the state could expect to enforce the public's rights of access and the conservation easements he is showing on that map, and he has not explained who would control the trust."

What can you do?

We would like as many of our Friends of the Falls supporters to call, fax, or email the Council of State members to urge them to take the bold action necessary to secure this property for future generations. We cannot allow this apparent good news to lull us into silence just as our opponents will be gearing up. Thank them for their support and emphasize how positively this decision will be viewed by our children and future generations. Tell them that the State is right not to fall for vague and unenforceable concessions.

Anthony sells 440 acres to investors

The Times News reported today that Anthony has recently sold 440 acres, the entire Henderson County portion of his tract, to a group of investors who helped finance his original purchase. This tract is among the most remote and undisturbed in the entire DuPont forest. Woody Keen reports that the beautiful hardwoods of the lower Briery Creek drainage are very peaceful and are one of his favorite spots on the property. This tract blocks several dead-end trails in the Forest, and is surrounded on three sides by existing State Forest. Representatives of the State declare that this will have no effect on the State's planned acquisition. See link below for story.

October 18

Moratorium expires; development ready to begin . . .

State leaders vow to acquire property . . .

The past 24 hours has seen a flurry of news about the future of the 2200 acres inside the DuPont State Forest. First, the State announced that negotiations have broken down with developer Jim Anthony; the moratorium expired on Monday of this week and Anthony refused to renew it. Second, Anthony scheduled a press conference at his property today to discuss his planned development of up to 300 home sites, which is almost ready to begin selling property. But the most interesting development, first reported by Harrison Metzger of the Hendersonville Times-News (see story), is that senior State officials are now openly acknowledging that they are now moving towards condemnation of the property in response to the breakdown.

Read Hendersonville Times News article.

September 17

Property Rights Rally attracts 200 - 250

The Citizens for Basic Rights rally in Brevard Saturday failed to attract the thousands anticipated by rally organizers. Attendance estimates were 250 (Times-News) and 200 (WHKP). Jim Anthony declined to speak at the rally, as organizers explained, to avoid jeopardizing ongoing negotiations with the State.

$2000, a Remington shotgun, and a CD player were awarded as door prizes. Considering that the attendance incentives work out to $10 per attendee, the fair weather turnout was less than convincing.

Read Times-News coverage of rally.

September 16

Property rights group closely tied to Cliffs & subcontractors

The group Citizens for Basic Rights was formed in late August to oppose the State acquisition of High Falls, Triple Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Based in Hendersonville, it claims to represent a silent majority of citizens. However, a cursory investigation has revealed glaring connections to the Cliffs Communities and its major subcontractors. In fact, everything points to the unmistakeable conclusion that CFBR is just a shell for Anthony and those hoping to profit from his development. See details of these connections.

Rally gives away $2000 and a Shotgun

In a surprisingly transparent attempt to encourage high turnout, Citizens for Basic Rights is planning to give away $2000 plus a Remington Shotgun at the rally, which is held at the Brevard High School Baseball Field.

Governor's Office Blasts Misleading Statements by Opposition

Spokespersons for the State described claims in Citizens for Basic Rights advertisments as "absolutely not true". See details.

September 10

Opponents use Misleading Statements in Advertising

Opponents of the State acquisition of the Little River waterfalls have made several misleading statements in printed advertisements lately. See our Answering the Critics page, where we expose the offending statements and set the record straight.

September 5

See our new PressRoom

Read important newspaper articles and editorial endorsements on our new web page.

September 4

Friends of the Falls responds to Anthony's Proposal

Read the detailed analysis by Friends of the Falls to Jim Anthony's recent proposal for restricted access and conservation easements on the 2200 acre tract.

August 29 Update

Anthony proposes limited public access, observation decks

At the August 28 Transylvania County Commissioners meeting, developer Jim Anthony announced his proposal to allow limited public access to the three waterfalls on his property, and to put certain other acreage into a conservation easement. The proposal includes:

Place 678 acres into a conservation easement
Place 238 acres, including land near waterfalls into some 3rd party trust, which would be governed by representatives of his company, state and county government, and community colleges.
Provide a specific trail from the DuPont State Forest to an observation platform at each waterfall for the general public to view from 9am to 5pm each day.
He also promised that 80% of the forested tract would remain undeveloped, though he mentioned no details about how this would be enforced.

Although the last-minute addition to the County Commission agenda was intended to be a one-sided property rights rally, Friends of the Falls supporters got wind of the rally hours before, and showed up in nearly equal numbers. Both sides were allowed equal comments during the public comment period. Friends of the Falls leaders criticized commissioners for jumping to support Anthony's position when few of the details were available, and explained why total acquisition of the property is still in the State's best long term interest.

Let Them Use Observation Decks

Perhaps the weakest part of Anthony's proposal is his insistence that the general public be limited to one simple access trail and observation deck for each waterfall. We don't believe that this is what Governor Hunt has in mind when he demanded full public access. Anthony insists on a two-tier system where his clients have more priviledges around the falls than the public, and these viewing corrals (fenced in?) will certainly provide the division he is looking for. As far as we can tell, the public will have no freedom of movement across any part of this property, including the 238 acres proposed for ownership by the third party trust.

Ask the Governor for Full State Ownership

Friends of the Falls continues to ask the Governor to prevent this gated community inside the State Forest by sticking to its commitment: full public ownership of the 2200 acres. Even if you have contacted State leaders previously, we need everyone to tell the Governor that Observation Decks inside a gated community are not what we have been fighting for.