Watauga River Gorge
The Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA) is seeking an individual to serve as both Regional Director and Watauga Riverkeeper in its high country regional office based in Boone.
For more than 30 years, WNCA has been a trusted community partner, marshaling grassroots support to keep our forests healthy, our air and water clean, and our communities vibrant. With a combination of policy advocacy, scientific research, and community collaboration, the Alliance unleashes the power of citizens’ voices to protect the natural heritage of our region, so that people and the environment can thrive.
Regional offices serve the following functions in their respective regions:
- To be a resource for the public on environmental issues
- To engage, organize, and lead citizens in work/advocacy on local environmental issues and on state and federal issues that are priorities for the organization
- To organize membership outreach events
- To build and maintain relationships with major donors
The Watauga Riverkeeper serves the following functions in its watershed:
- To be a public advocate for the watershed with government agencies, partner groups, the community, and the media, including taking these stakeholders on the river as needed and monitoring, investigating, documenting, and reporting harmful activity
- To create programs and initiatives to improve the watershed and to recruit and manage volunteers to support those programs
- To work in partnership with other NC Riverkeepers on statewide initiatives and the Waterkeeper Alliance on national campaigns that relate to the Watauga River watershed
- To actively seek funding to support Riverkeeper programs and initiatives
To fulfill their duties, the Regional Director/Riverkeeper should be:
- Passionate and committed to preserving the environment, fluent on environmental issues (particularly water), and able to teach and engage people on these issues
- Able to organize, coordinate, and lead people toward a common goal
- Comfortable engaging and leading citizens in policy advocacy at all levels of government
- Comfortable working with a range of people and interests
- Able to build relationships with major donors and other funders
- Able to coordinate with staff working in other locations
- Able to formulate for the region yearly goals, benchmarks, and operating budget.
Therefore, the following are requirements for the Regional Director/Riverkeeper:
- Significant experience with watershed science, stream ecology, Clean Water Act enforcement, environmental policy, or other relevant areas such as conservation, water access and recreation, or environmental advocacy
- Experience in community organizing, membership development, campaigns, or other position requiring coordination of people
- Experience paddling and ability to safely take others on the river
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Good decision-making, problem-solving and interpersonal skills
- Teaching skills
- Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
- Ability to work on many projects at once and maintain attention to details
- Ability to work across political, social, and economic lines
- A bachelor’s degree
The following are preferred:
- Master’s degree or other advanced degree in a field related to the environment
- Advocacy experience
- Fundraising or membership outreach experience
- Familiarity with Waterkeeper grassroots model and movement
- Experience with online communications tools and video technology
Competitive salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits package.
How to apply:
Send cover letter, resume and three references to Julie Mayfield, Co-Director, Julie@WNCA.org.
Subject line should read: “Regional Director/Watauga Riverkeeper.”
Application deadline: Aug. 31, 2014
EEO
The French Broad Riverkeeper’s best friend, June Bug, keeps watch on the water.
WNCA is looking for a volunteer with graphic design experience to help create a State of the River Report for Henderson County.
You’ll work directly with French Broad Riverkeeper to distill data from current reports into a simple, attractive and easy to understand information graphic for the general public to consume.
Examples of previous reports will be provided.
If you’re interested, please email Hartwell@WNCA.org with the subject line: State of the River Report.
Western North Carolina Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of the French Broad River Paddle Trail App, sponsored by our friends at Oskar Blues Brewery.
To download it today, text “paddle” to “77000” to view a map featuring campsites, access points, outfitters, restaurants and more.
The French Broad River Paddle Trail App will keep you up to date on French Broad events, send river reports, and help you make a reservation on the French Broad River PaddleTrail, a series of campsites and access points that link more than 140 miles of the French Broad River from Rosman, N.C., to Douglas Lake, Tenn.
We’ll celebrate the launch of the app and our partnership with Oskar Blues Brewery from 5:30-8 p.m., July 30 at the brewery’s facility in Brevard (342 Mountain Industrial Drive).
There will be live music, a food truck, Oskar Blues’ craft beer, and WNCA staff members who can share more information about the world-class French Broad River PaddleTrail, which officially opened in 2012.
Those who download the app can enter a raffle at the party to win a watershed dry bag and a waterproof Paddle Trail map.
The Oskar Blues trolley will be available from Asheville, leaving from the Aloft Hotel (51 Biltmore Ave.) at 5:30 p.m., and returning to the Aloft around 9 p.m. The trolley is free, but you must RSVP for a seat to Hartwell@WNCA.org.
The French Broad River Paddle Trail project was born out of the public’s desire to explore the entire French Broad River by boat and WNCA made that possible, as the entiretrail is composed of paddle-in-only campsites.
Learn more about the French Broad River Paddle Trail at www.wnca.org/paddle.
Learn more about Oskar Blues Brewery at http://brew.oskarblues.com/
Download the French Broad River Paddle Trail App here:
For Android phones:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avlradio.paddletrail
For iPhones:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/french-broad-paddle-trail/id893265682?mt=8
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For more than 30 years, the Western North Carolina Alliance has been a trusted community partner, marshaling grassroots support to keep our forests healthy, our air and water clean, and our communities vibrant. Utilizing a combination of policy advocacy, scientific research, and community collaboration, the Alliance and its chapters throughout Western North Carolina unleash the power of citizens’ voices to protect the natural heritage of our region so that people and the environment can thrive. For more information, please visit www.WNCA.org.
About Oskar Blues Brewery
Founded as a brewpub by Dale Katechis in 1997, Oskar Blues Brewery launched the craft beer-in-a-can apocalypse in 2002 using a tabletop machine that sealed one can at a time. In 2008, the makers of the top-selling pale ale in ColoRADo, Dale’s Pale Ale, moved into a 35,000-square-foot facility in Longmont, ColoRADo. The brewery has since experienced explosive growth—packaging 59,000 barrels of beer in 2011 and 86,750 barrels in 2012. In December of 2012, Oskar Blues opened the doors to an additional brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. Together, the breweries packaged 119,000 barrels of beer in 2013, and now distribute their trailblazing craft brews to 35 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
Western North Carolina Alliance recently partnered with the Waterkeeper Swim Guide to help answer a fundamentally important question about our waterways: “Are they safe to swim?”
“Waterkeeper Swim Guide” is a website and free app that displays water quality data in simple terms so people can determine the safety of using a specific swimming hole based on the assessment of E. coli levels and whether those levels are safe, as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA and the state have a lot of water quality data, but it’s often outdated and buried in complicated reports, said Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper with WNCA.
“The existing water quality data is interesting, but it wasn’t very helpful to tubers, boaters, and people who love to take a swim in many of our beautiful streams and rivers,” Carson said. “What the public really needs is a tool that would tell you where the closest swimming areas are located and which ones are safe for swimming.”
Carson and many volunteers began testing the French Broad River and several streams and tributaries in 2010.
This work has grown recently with the help of partners such as Headwaters Outfitters and Asheville Outdoor Center, which has allowed the Riverkeeper to gather data from a broader area of the watershed.
The sampling process currently includes 10 frequently used areas of the river, from the headwaters in Rosman to popular tubing sections of the river through Asheville.
The latest results from the Swim Guide indicate that cooling off with a tube down the river is usually a great idea—but after moderate to heavy rain, E. coli levels can spike, posing a health risk for those getting in the water. Sources of pollution after a rain may include runoff from animal operations, sewage overflows, and even legacy bacteria being stirred up from river sediment.
But the Waterkeeper Swim Guide will help you find your closest swimming holes and determine whether they are safe for swimming.
The guide’s information will grow as we add more volunteer partners.
Visit https://www.theswimguide.org/ to check it out, or download the app from your Apple or Android store.
![[Photo: WNCA]](http://wnca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BurningCANrecycling-300x225.jpg)
[Photo: WNCA]
The goal of these recycling grants, according to Oskar Blues, is to empower individuals, events and communities to create sustainable recycling programs.
WNCA will partner with Asheville Greenworks and Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) to implement the grant.
CAN’d Aid has awarded $12,000 in cash and 18 reusable recycling stations have been granted to four nonprofits across the country. Funds and equipment are still available and the foundation’s goal is to award at least a dozen more applicants this summer and fall and continue the program in 2015.
Learn more at http://foundation.oskarblues.com/.
©Jeff Rich/WNCA STFB 2012
Join the Western North Carolina Alliance and our French Broad Riverkeeper on a unique journey down the French Broad River!
This guided trip will take participants from the headwaters on French Broad River over 115 miles into Tennessee, camping out along the French Broad River Paddle Trail℠.
Leaving the food, boats, shuttle and logistics up to us and just enjoy a scenic relaxing float down the French Broad River. The French Broad River is one of the oldest rivers in the world and the paddle trail, that was recently opened by WNCA, was recently featured top four must-do activities in the region by Blue Ridge Outdoors.
We now have a two, four-, and five-day trip options, so book your trip today because we always sell out quickly!
![[Photo: WNCA]](http://wnca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BurningCANrecycling.jpg)
