Save Campbell University's River Park
The Issue
I remember walking through the woodlands of Campbell University's River Park, a place that seemed to hold history under its canopy. Those 384 acres along the Cape Fear River were where I, along with countless others, learned to read a landscape, connect with nature, and understand what environmental stewardship actually looks like in practice.
That living classroom is now under threat.
Campbell University has announced a plan to clear cut 200+ acres of 40-year-old mixed forest and selectively harvest the remaining bottomland hardwood stands along the river. The projected financial return is estimated at well under $1 million, roughly equivalent to one student's four-year undergraduate tuition. For that, the university would eliminate an irreplaceable teaching resource used by at least ten academic courses, displace 118 documented bird species, and destroy decades of ecological maturity that cannot be recovered in our lifetimes.
Green space is already scarce for Campbell students and Harnett County residents alike. Clear cutting what remains is not stewardship. It is the opposite.
Campbell has always stood for faith, education, and service to community. This decision reflects none of those values.
We are asking Campbell University to:
Halt the clear cutting and selective harvest plan immediately.
Engage its own environmental science, ecology, biology, and public health faculty in developing a real management plan for the River Park.
Reopen the park to students and the broader community.
Pursue responsible ecological stewardship, including targeted invasive species management, that preserves the forest's educational and ecological value.
Consider conservation alternatives, including easements and partnerships with land trusts, that protect this land permanently.
The River Park should be a model of what a university can do with extraordinary natural resources, not a lesson in what happens when short-term financial thinking overrides long-term vision.
Please sign and share. Show Campbell University that its students, alumni, faculty, and neighbors are watching, and that we expect better.
Follow the movement at SaveCURiverPark.org or using #SaveCURiverPark.
649
The Issue
I remember walking through the woodlands of Campbell University's River Park, a place that seemed to hold history under its canopy. Those 384 acres along the Cape Fear River were where I, along with countless others, learned to read a landscape, connect with nature, and understand what environmental stewardship actually looks like in practice.
That living classroom is now under threat.
Campbell University has announced a plan to clear cut 200+ acres of 40-year-old mixed forest and selectively harvest the remaining bottomland hardwood stands along the river. The projected financial return is estimated at well under $1 million, roughly equivalent to one student's four-year undergraduate tuition. For that, the university would eliminate an irreplaceable teaching resource used by at least ten academic courses, displace 118 documented bird species, and destroy decades of ecological maturity that cannot be recovered in our lifetimes.
Green space is already scarce for Campbell students and Harnett County residents alike. Clear cutting what remains is not stewardship. It is the opposite.
Campbell has always stood for faith, education, and service to community. This decision reflects none of those values.
We are asking Campbell University to:
Halt the clear cutting and selective harvest plan immediately.
Engage its own environmental science, ecology, biology, and public health faculty in developing a real management plan for the River Park.
Reopen the park to students and the broader community.
Pursue responsible ecological stewardship, including targeted invasive species management, that preserves the forest's educational and ecological value.
Consider conservation alternatives, including easements and partnerships with land trusts, that protect this land permanently.
The River Park should be a model of what a university can do with extraordinary natural resources, not a lesson in what happens when short-term financial thinking overrides long-term vision.
Please sign and share. Show Campbell University that its students, alumni, faculty, and neighbors are watching, and that we expect better.
Follow the movement at SaveCURiverPark.org or using #SaveCURiverPark.
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Petition created on June 14, 2026