Feeling at home

Less than two months into his new position as superintendent of Mayo River State Park, Keith Martin says it’s starting to feel like home.

“I grew up just south of here in Winston-Salem, but I have to confess I never spent much time in Rockingham County,” Martin said. “I know I’m just beginning to know the area, but so far I really like it here. There’s a real sense of community here.”

Martin, 47, has been part of the forest service for 20 years. The Western Carolina University graduate served as a ranger at Pilot Mountain State Park since 1993 and worked two years prior to that as a law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“I guess I always knew I wanted to do something connected with the outdoors,” Martin said. “I love being out in the woods hiking, camping or just enjoying nature. It’s great to have a job that you really love.”

Martin began his new responsibilities at Mayo River State Park on Jan. 1, filling the opening created when former superintendent Fred Watkins left to become superintendent of Jordan Lake Recreation Area in Chatham County.

In the weeks since starting at Mayo River, Martin said he has tried to walk as much of the park area as possible. He has already noticed several distinct differences from the grounds at Pilot Mountain. The first things he noticed were the rocks.

“Over around Pilot Mountain and west of there we have a lot of craggy, gray rocks like quartzite,” he said. “One of the first things I did here was to take a walk around the pond and I spotted something that looked like one of those fake salt licks, sort of a reddish color, and I realized it was a rock. All the rocks around here were like that.”

But the most obvious difference between Pilot Mountain and Mayo River is the river.

“Of course the river is our most distinctive feature, and we want to do everything we can to promote and protect that,” Martin said.

Although there is not a lot of development as yet along the river, Martin said there will be in the future as more property is acquired.

“We’re not talking about a lot of development like buildings, but just better access to the river at various locations,” he said. “One of the first things would be to build road beds, parking and access areas. We want to keep disturbance to the natural beauty of the area to a minimum.”

Martin said he was quite impressed with the way the state park service maintained the historical integrity and community atmosphere of the former Mayo Park. The original picnic shelter designed by renowned architect Antonin Raymond was restored and the new restroom facilities were built on the same design as Raymond’s original bath house facility.

The state recently completed restoring the large lower pond adjacent to the picnic shelter and restrooms, and the pond is beginning to fill with water. Martin said he hopes to hold some fishing events at the park after the two ponds are stocked.

“The fish are gone from the upper pond now, as well, because it had to be drained while work was done on the lower pond,” he said. “We know fish will do alright in the upper pond, but there is still a lot of vegetation in the lower pond. As it decays and dies, it reduces the oxygen in the water and we’ll have to see how the fish do there until it’s gone.”

Martin said it could take a couple years for the lower pond to be opened for fishing, but he was hoping to begin stocking it this spring or summer.

One of Martin’s visions for the park in the near future is the development of some group camping sites. They would be rough camping areas, not fully developed like family camping sites in some state parks.

“Those would be more easily and less expensively developed than the sites that need full restroom facilities and other amenities,” Martin said. “But they would be ideal for groups like Scouts or youth groups.”

Martin admitted he had other ideas for the park, but wanted to take it slow and make sure things are done properly.

“I haven’t even walked all of the park’s boundaries yet,” he said. “I think I need to get to know the park and community better myself before I start looking years down the road. There’s a lot of work ahead, but I think this community really supports the park and there are a lot of people that want to see us grow into one of the state’s finest parks.”