The University’s plans to fund and design a golf course around the 4-H Environmental Education Conference Center in Tyrrell County have been called off due to funding restrictions, but the possibility of putting in recreational trails and fields is being considered.
According to Ralsa Marshall Stewart, head of the state 4-H Youth Development program, there have been concerns about the land around the center being developed for residential purposes. N.C. State decided to purchase approximately 275-acres of land around the center in order to preserve it, she said.
The University received a grant of $1.7 million from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to purchase the land.
“The main focus of the project was to do stream and wetland restoration and prevent high residency development,” Robert Evans, one of the designers who worked with the actual restoration of the land, said.
While the main goal is to preserve the land, one-third of the area was not considered to be wetlands, he said, and therefore, the University considered using it for recreational purposes.
“We created a concept golf course layout that would be outside of the wetlands and streams,” Evans said.
The nine-hole golf course would be true to the focus of preserving the land and be environmentally-friendly, according to Stewart.
“The course would be chemical-free and available for students to study and monitor,” Stewart said. “It would be unique, one of a kind in North Carolina.”
The University opted to no longer build the golf course when the Clean Water Management Trust Fund became concerned about using the money for a golf course, not just improving water quality.
“Not building the golf course won’t have a major impact on the University, but it doesn’t make much sense not to use the upland areas for something recreational,” Evans said.
According to Evans, the University is still considering putting ball fields or hiking trails in, but nothing is set.
Josh Liljedahl, a junior in engineering, thought the golf course would have proved beneficial.
“Having the golf course would have been a good idea, especially if students would have been allowed to use it for research, but if they are still focusing on preserving the land, I guess it’s OK that they’re not building the course,” Liljedahl said.
Some of the University’s faculty and students will still continue to develop designs and assist with construction, planting and monitoring of the land until a decision can be made.