How about a kayak ride along the Brunswick River? There’s plenty of green and wildlife to see, but you might not know exactly what you’re looking at, and you have to find your own way through the currents and creeks.
Three towns on the river – Navassa, Leland and Belville – are working together to try to make the kayaking experience there easier and more complete. The goal is to have signs along the river indicating where you are and what wildlife you may find, as well as historic markers for former rice plantations and other points of interest.
The northern Brunswick towns are seeking grants to finance a comprehensive plan for the proposed river trail, christened the North Brunswick Blueway. The trail would go from Indian Creek in the north to the Brunswick Nature Park in the south, from the U.S. Government Rail Transfer Facility in the west to Eagles Island in the east.
“It will be the first significant recognition of the wonderful natural resources we have on the northern part of the county, the first real attempt to capitalize on them,” said Niel Brooks, head of Leland Parks and Recreation. The trail could attract more people interested in ecotourism, which would bring in more business for local hotels and restaurants and possibly new stores catering to paddlers, Brooks said.
Navassa Mayor Eulis Willis said once the marked trail makes the Brunswick River easier to navigate, he plans to get on a kayak and explore parts of his town he’s never seen before. “It’s going to give my community another recreational outlet,” he said.
Willis said this is one of the first major projects on which his town, Leland and Belville work together, helping usher in more cooperation among them in various areas and more open dialogue. Belville Mayor Jack Batson, who had talked about building this relationship among the towns since before his election, and Leland Mayor Walter Futch said they’re also excited about the blueway and the towns being in this together.
Right now, the blueway is still in its infancy. There’s no timeline for it or firm plans on how much to develop the river trail, said Navassa Planner Travis Barnes, a driving force behind the project.
What the project does have right now is strong support from local entities and a meticulous feasibility study done for free by a graduate student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Lynne Harder said she needed a final project for her environmental studies program, and this grabbed her interest. Her work with it earned her an A.
“I think it’s a good way to balance growth and environmental sustainability,” Harder said.
Kemp Burdette, executive director of Cape Fear River Watch, said the idea for the North Brunswick Blueway was born from talks he had at kayaking events Leland and Cape Fear River Watch organized.
“A paddle trail along the Brunswick River would be a nice extension to the Cape Fear Trail, offering a quieter and more serene experience,” Harder’s study says. It would also tie into other local ecotourism efforts such as the Brunswick County Greenway, which would connect the county to the East Coast Greenway, a network of nature trails stretching from Maine to South Florida.
Harder’s study lists as existing access sites Navassa’s Davis Creek, Leland’s Mill Creek, Town Creek Trail and the county’s Brunswick River Park and Brunswick Nature Park. She said improving those sites could encourage people to stay beyond day trips and go camping there.
A resolution of support for the blueway has been signed by the three towns, Cape Fear River Watch, Cape Fear Resource Conservation & Development and the N.C. Coastal Land Trust. Barnes said he’d like the other entities whose formal support is being requested, including Brunswick County, to have signed the resolution by August.
The more support from the community, the more likely it is the project will earn grants for its comprehensive study and its development down the road, Barnes said.
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