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THREE NEW LAND TRACTS ADDED TO UMSTEAD STATE PARKWe are pleased to announce that the State has finalized the purchase of three new tracts of land for William B. Umstead State Park — an effort many years in the making. We played an active role throughout this process: protecting this option by preventing the loss of key land across US 70 to other interests without fair compensation, helping facilitate tract selections, and participating in planning and public meetings. We are grateful to NC State Parks, Anderson Toyota, and the Walton Family for making this set of transactions possible, and to every citizen who submitted comments or attended public meetings along the way. | HALEYS BRANCH MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS COMING TO UMSTEAD STATE PARKNew single-track mountain bike trails are coming to Umstead State Park. Wake County will build and maintain the new Haleys Branch Trails, on land north and south of the 286 East tract and west of the Reedy Creek Multi-use Trail. The bike/pedestrian trails on the 150-acre 286 East currently leased by Wake County from the RDUAA will be redesigned to join the new trails within Umstead State Park. We are excited that the new mountain bike/pedestrian trails will be built within Umstead State Park — the Umstead Coalition has been advocating for these trails for many years. |
STOP RDU QUARRY WIN! Court Rules in Umstead Coalition’s Favor to Restore the 50-year Sunset Clause and Protective Stream and Park BuffersDecember 3, 2025 - For nearly four decades—through the original 1981 Wake Stone mining permit and eight subsequent renewals and modifications—North Carolina State Parks and the public relied on two essential protections: the 50-year Sunset Clause and the undisturbed buffers measured from the top of bank of Crabtree Creek. After improper removal of those protections from the permit, and years of Wake Stone’s legal resistance and repeated attempts to block review of these issues, the Umstead Coalition ultimately secured a court decision restoring those long-standing protections for William B. Umstead State Park. Wake Stone has argued that the company was unaware of the Sunset Clause from 1981 to 2018. The public record, including detailed correspondence and negotiations over the ‘sooner’ versus ‘later’ language in 1980–1981, makes that claim extremely difficult to reconcile with the historical facts. Wake Stone accepted every one of its nine permits without objecting to those terms. Justice has been done and the Sunset Clause and buffer protections upon which we have all depended have been restored. Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair of The Umstead Coalition, “We are thankful for the Court’s decision to restore the Sunset Clause and Crabtree Creek buffers on the Triangle Quarry to protect William B. Umstead State Park. These conditions were negotiated in good faith in 1981 between Wake Stone, State Parks and other State agencies at the highest level, with the clear expectation these protections would be a permanent requirement of the mining operation. We thank the Honorable Rufus Edmisten, the AG in 1981 who had ensured these protections and testified as such in court. We are thankful for the thousands of the Umstead Coalition members and citizens who supported our efforts over the past 9 years of this fight.” NEW 2026 EVENT SERIES IN UMSTEAD! SUNSET HIKES WITH A NATURALISTJoin us for a series of Monday evening sunset hikes. Each hike follows a different route through Umstead State Park and surrounding open space. All hikes are free. Sign up on Meetup — spots are limited. Monday, April 13 | 5:30–7:00pm: Sunset Hike passing Big Lake Monday, May 4 | 6:00–8:30pm: Sunset Hike passing Davies Pond & Richland Lake Monday, June 1 | 6:30–8:30pm: Sunset Hike passing Reedy Creek Lake Dress for the weather and trail conditions. Water and snacks recommended. WHO IS THE UMSTEAD COALITION? |
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