| Federal money to help the National Park Service purchase the private, 57-acre North of Highland Campground in North Truro is back in the picture.
Yesterday, Massachusetts lawmakers announced that $2 million toward the $6.1 million purchase price had been secured from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
''It is a done deal,” Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said of the $2 million in funding.
The campground property would be the largest piece of private land added to the park since it was established by law in 1961, said Mark Forest, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. ''That's why it attracted the attention of both Delahunt and Kennedy.”
The infusion of taxpayer dollars fills a funding hole created when a $2 million appropriation request toward the purchase was removed from the federal budget.
The 237-site campground has been owned and operated by the Currier family since 1954. In recent years, family members indicated they would not likely operate the campground beyond the next 15 years or so, adding they would like to have the property become part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
In 2005, the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, forged an agreement that would grant the current owners continued operation of the campground under a 15-year use agreement, establish the purchase price for the National Park Service, and ensure that the land would remain a campground with public access.
The agreement is contingent on full funding being secured.
Craig MacDonnell, Massachusetts director of the Trust for Public Land, lauded the efforts of Kennedy, Delahunt and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in obtaining the federal money.
''Future generations of Bay Staters will benefit greatly from their efforts,” MacDonnell said.
In a written statement, Delahunt commended the Seashore, the Trust for Public Lands and local residents.
''I have found this campground to be one of the most pristine and scenic areas within the entire park,” he said.
''I've been a strong supporter of this acquisition because, all throughout our region, campers and all who love the outdoors are losing access to campsites like this.”
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