State Buys 3,005 Acres Along Lumber River

North Carolina's purchase expands Lumber River State Park, making it the state's second-largest park at 16,594 acres.

Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in National Parks

Flat opaque gouache-painted illustration of cypress knees rising from dark swamp water under hanging moss, with a river bend in the distance. — North Carolina bought 3,005 acres along the Lumber River near Fair Bluff for just over $3.8 million, expanding Lumber River State Park to 16,594 acres. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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North Carolina purchased 3,005 acres along the Lumber River in Robeson County for just over $3.8 million near Fair Bluff. The addition makes Lumber River State Park the second-largest state park in the North Carolina system.

Why it matters

The acquisition expands protected river and swamp habitat and gives the park a larger footprint along the Lumber River. Officials say the tract adds land for future public use after roughly three years of negotiations with the seller.

The state paid just over $3.8 million for the land, with $3.6 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and the remainder from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. Officials have not set a timeline for adding river-access campsites.

The players

Ivy Lodge Timber

The timber company that negotiated the sale of the land to the state over roughly three years.

The details

The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, bought and held the property before selling it to the state. Roughly 1,000 acres of the tract are upland, with much of the rest cypress and hardwood swamp forest, and state staff have begun marking its boundaries.

Negotiations with Ivy Lodge Timber began approximately three years before the purchase.
State purchase of 3,005 acres was reported on November 14, 2026.

Seasonal Patterns

The acquisition is funded largely through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, a long-running program that channels federal money into state park land. Its use here extends that program's pattern of supporting river and swamp conservation in North Carolina.

Visitors to Lumber River State Park will find the park's footprint larger once boundary markings are complete. Trip planners should check current park access before visiting the newly acquired river frontage, since campsites there have not yet been developed.

The takeaway

Public land acquisitions like this one often take years to complete and depend on combining state and federal funding sources. Readers planning river trips in the area should watch for future campsite announcements along the Lumber River.