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Faces of Conservation
Lew Ledford

Lew Ledford
Lew Ledford
© North Carolina Division
of Parks and Recreation

As a child, Lew Ledford scaled the mountains of Mitchell County and formed a deep connection with the wilderness. While at Appalachian State University, he became a seasonal ranger at Mount Mitchell State Park. These, and many other experiences in our state’s spectacular outdoor places, drew Ledford to a career that has already spanned nearly 30 years.

 

In 2004, Ledford was named director of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, becoming the first person ever to rise from entry-level ranger rank to lead the division.

 

By all accounts, Ledford has been instrumental in developing partnerships and relationships—like that with The Nature Conservancy—which have not only enhanced existing state parks but have created new ones.

 

The mission of the Division of Parks and Recreation is to protect natural beauty, ecological features and recreational resources that are of statewide significance, to provide safe outdoor recreational opportunities, and to promote stewardship of the state's natural heritage.

 

It’s a mission that Ledford takes personally, and one that matches well with conservation organizations and with local, state and federal government agencies.

 

“Experts predict that North Carolina will have a 52 percent population increase in the next 20 years,” says Ledford. “Preserving open space and green space has got to be a priority. Our state parks are wonderful destinations for our citizens, and the division strives to strike an appropriate balance between recreation and protection.”

 

Ledford won’t say which state park is his favorite. When asked, he speaks with understandable pride of all the parks under his division’s watchful eye. He takes a moment to speak of the newly authorized state parks in Hickory Nut Gorge and in the Sandhills, created with the help of The Nature Conservancy and other partners. But we’d bet that Mount Mitchell, where his career and boyhood fondness for nature began, just might top the list.