The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that on Tuesday the N.C. Council of State approved the purchase of 1,222 acres at Rumbling Bald Mountain to expand Chimney Rock State Park by more than 20 percent. Located north of the Chimney Rock attraction in Rutherford County, Rumbling Bald was protected for conservation by The Nature Conservancy.

Chimney Rock Park, a heavily visited tourist attraction, was acquired by the N.C. State park system in 2007. The park is part of the Chimney Rock-Hickorynut Gorge Important Bird Area, which supports a great diversity of mid-elevation forest birds. Eighteen species of warblers, including Cerulean Warbler, are known to breed within the site. This is one of the few places where Peregrine Falcons nest in North Carolina.

-- Ida Phillips