Eno river group buys 135 acres
Land from $1.6M purchase from family to go toward state park addition

The eno river Association, in its largest-ever land purchase, paid $1.6 million Friday to secure 135 acres along the eno river just east of Hillsborough for eventual inclusion in a state park.

The Lucille G. Bunting family, which had owned the Bunting-Poplar Ridge tract for more than 40 years, sold the property for less than its appraised value. Family members said they wanted to protect the land from development.

"It is with great joy that we will continue to enjoy this park-like land with other citizens for years to come," said Glenn Bunting, whose two sisters also were involved in the deal.

The tract, located near U.S. 70, contains more than a mile of the eno river and is home to several relatively rare plants and animals, including the red-tailed hawk and the river otter.

Carolyn Bunting, a sister who lives in Durham, said their parents bought the land in 1960, and it was a part of their lives while growing up. "That piece was a nonworking farm many, many years ago, run by my father," Bunting said. "It was there and pretty much not used by anyone."

"We would visit on weekends," she noted, adding that, "we three children had many lessons in biology on the tract."

Their father "would be very, very happy that it was being put to this use," she said.

Even though her brother is a commercial developer, Carolyn Bunting said the family decided selling it to the association was the way to go. "We're probably being as much rewarded for that as we would be" if we developed the land, she said.

Lori Olson, executive director of the eno river Association, said the Poplar Ridge tract was paid for with $80,000 from the association's revolving land fund, with the Self-Help Credit Union providing a loan for the remainder. The group's land fund includes money raised from the annual Festival for the eno, as well as individual donations.

The Poplar Ridge "property is a key tract that has been in our master plan for park," Olson said. "It is something the association has had its eye on for years."

The state could buy the Poplar Ridge tract from the association later this year, Olson said, adding it to the eno river State Park and eventually putting in public amenities such as hiking trails and parking.

In addition, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation is to buy another tract in December -- the 815-acre eno Wilderness tract. The agency will use $6.5 million in state and federal funds to purchase that land, which covers more than two miles of the river southwest of Cox Mountain in Orange County.

The purchase of those tracts will enlarge the park by more than a third, officials said, bringing it significantly closer to the 4,400-acre goal set by the parks division and the river association.

"This project has been in the works for over two years, so to finally see it purchased, and to know that it will be protected forever, and well, this is what our work is all about," said Robin Jacobs, chairwoman of the association's Land and Stewardship Committee.

And although they are sad to see the property go, Carolyn Bunting said the family is happy with the deal.

"We'll have a different relationship to [the land]," she said. "We have other pieces, but this had a lot of significance ... We're happy that the rest of the state will get to enjoy it."

Bunting said the family has another large chunk of land -- about 200 acres -- in Rockingham County that they also are considering for preservation.