The Park Service is collecting public comment on a vision for managing nearly 5,400 acres that have been added to the Blue Ridge Parkway/NPS

Imagine the possibilities if you added more than 5,000 acres to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. It's happening, and you have an opportunity to share your thoughts on how that acreage will be managed by the National Park Service.

The 5,329 acres came under Park Service ownership as part of a large-scale landscape ecosystem collaborative. The lands, while under NPS ownership and management, will be part of a collaborative approach between local, state, federal, and private entities that own lands in and around the Plott Balsam Mountains and Waterrock Knob.

The Park Service currently is working to develop a shared management plan with a goal of preserving resources on an ecosystem scale.

Management of NPS lands will be subject to NPS law and policy, but this collaborative, coordinated approach to larger scale protection of resources, research and education, and visitor opportunities will ensure the protection and enjoyment of the region as a whole. Opportunities include working in partnership on resource protection, visitor use and recreation, land conservation, creating a regional identity, and providing interpretation and educational opportunities.

It was back in 2016 that Blue Ridge Parkway officials announced plans to acquire the 5,329 acres near Waterrock Knob, Milepost 451 along the Parkway, for the largest expansion of the park in 60 years.

The Waterrock Knob region of Western North Carolina is one of the highest points along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and is considered to be one of the most rare and biodiverse landscapes in the Eastern United States. Elk, rare salamanders, flying squirrels, and slowly disappearing high elevation spruce-fir forests all inhabit this breathtaking landscape also known as the Plott Balsams.

The area is also home to rich Cherokee and Appalachian cultural history.

You can comment on the vision for the landscape through Feburary 25 at this site.