MountainTrue FAQ: Live Staking

We love live staking here at MountainTrue, as it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to support native biodiversity and stream bank restoration! This blog hopes to answer many of the frequently asked questions we get about live staking. Most of this information is general, but some is specific to the Watauga Basin and Riverkeeper Program.

Q: What’s live staking?

Live staking is a method of stream bank repair using native tree cuttings to revegetate the riparian buffer. The riparian buffer consists of trees, shrubs, and grasses alongside stream banks — it plays a crucial role in protecting stream health. The resiliency of riparian buffers is frequently impacted by land use. Activities like mowing to the edge of a stream, cutting down trees to see the water, or new development can negatively impact water quality. By live staking, we can positively and directly impact the overall health of our waterways!

Q: Where do you get the stakes from?

We get our live stakes from Foggy Mountain Nursery in Lansing, NC — their team harvests the stakes from native tree species, cutting stakes two to three feet long and one-half to two inches thick. While it’s possible to cut the stakes ourselves, we choose to support a fantastic local business and ensure that we’re planting the correct species. We’ve also harvested stakes from our previous live staking sites, where planted stakes have become well established.

Q: How do you choose where you’ll be planting?

We prioritize local public parks and river accesses because they’re easy to access and directly benefit the public. We’ve frequented Valle Crucis Community Park in Banner Elk, Cove Creek, and other public riverside locations around Watauga County. We also partnered with the City of Hendersonville to host two live staking workdays in Henderson County this February!

Q: What species do you plant?

We only plant tree species native to our region — primarily silky willow, silky dogwood, elderberry, and ninebark stakes. We’ve also planted other species, like buttonbush, black willow, and red stem dogwood. Recommended for stream bank repair by the NC State Cooperative Extension, these native tree species prefer moist soil and thrive in riparian habitats. These species support native wildlife, especially local pollinators. They can also establish extensive root systems to successfully hold soil in place along riparian buffers, ultimately preventing erosion.

Q: Why do you plant during the winter?

Live stakes are living cuttings of dormant trees that can propagate or sprout a new plant from the cutting of the parent plant. During winter, trees enter a state of dormancy to conserve their energy and weather the colder temperatures. Our live staking season lasts from November to March. We plant hearty hardwood stakes that use their energy to establish roots, waiting until spring to grow their branches and leaves. These resilient roots serve as a stream bank’s first line of defense against erosion, especially during high-flow events. Planting live stakes while tree species are in their natural pattern of energy conservation allows for a higher likelihood of survival along riparian buffers.

Q: How successful are the stakes?

Live stakes have a survival rate of 30-80%. However, survival varies from species to species and depends on environmental conditions. For example, we’d likely have very low survivability if a drought occurred after planting. But, if we plant under ideal conditions using correct planting techniques and have favorable weather post-planting, our stakes can do remarkably well! We can also remove invasive plant species and water the freshly planted live stakes to give them a better chance of success.

Stakes are most successful when planted along naturally sloped stream banks. They can still be planted on extremely incised banks, though they’re more likely to be less impactful in those locations. In our experience, silky willow and silky dogwood stakes tend to fare better than other native tree species we plant.

Q: How long does it take for the stakes to grow?

Roots, leaves, and branches can be well established after one growing season. From there, they continue to grow in length from the tips of their roots and branches year after year.

Q: How do live stakes benefit our waterways?

Live stakes grow root systems that hold soil in place and prevent erosion in local waterways. Sediment pollution remains a significant threat to the Watauga River Basin. This type of pollution clogs aquatic habitats and transports toxic substances through local waterways, increasing water temperatures and negatively impacting native biodiversity.

Once planted, small live stakes will grow into larger trees that stabilize and support riparian buffer health. Healthy riparian buffers benefit stream health in a multitude of ways — they also absorb nutrients, create wildlife habitat, and reduce the intensity of flooding from rain events. Unvegetated streams are often incised and can lose several feet of bank in a single rain event — this can be detrimental to nearby homes and other structures.

Q: What’s a typical day of planting?

We prep the stakes by cutting the live ends at a 45-degree angle. The NC State Cooperative Extension states that such cutting is enough to catalyze root growth at the nodes. The folks at Foggy Mountain Nursery kindly mark the planting ends of our stakes, so we know which ends to cut (pictured right). Once prepped and ready, we take the stakes in buckets down to the stream. We plant along the bank from the water’s edge to the bank’s top — not in the actual stream bed. Stakes are planted at an angle and submerged into the soil about two-thirds of the way. From there, the rest of the work is up to the stakes!

Want to learn more about live staking? Check out our Events page to sign up for one of our upcoming volunteer workdays, or contact our resident live staking experts listed below:

Andy Hill, High Country Regional Director and Watauga Riverkeeper

Hannah Woodburn, High Country Watershed Coordinator

MountainTrue Weighs in on Henderson County 2045 Comprehensive Plan

MountainTrue has sent an open letter to the Henderson Country Planning Board that lays out our priorities and goals for a comprehensive plan that will guide future growth and development in a responsible and sustainable way for Henderson County. The letter (included below) addresses public participation in the process, smart growth principles, land preservation, protection and expansion of public lands, protecting clean water, and advancing clean energy.

Over the past several months, MountainTrue has been busy meeting with groups in Henderson County to increase public participation in the 2045 Comprehensive Planning Process. Every 20 years, comprehensive planning offers residents the opportunity to weigh in with their vision for the future. We need everyone’s voice represented as this key initial public input and engagement phase winds down. Here are some links with information about how to get involved:

The County’s 2045 Comp Plan site: This site will provide links to the community survey (available in Spanish), upcoming events, and contacts at the county.
MountainTrue’s recommendations for taking the Public Survey: these are our thoughts on how to fill out the survey.
MountainTrue’s planning principles: this is our take on a set of principles that we feel should guide the county’s planning process.

December 13, 2021

Henderson County Planning Board
100 North King Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792

Via email

RE: MountainTrue’s Principles for Henderson County 2045 Comprehensive Plan

Dear Henderson County Planning Board Members:

On behalf of MountainTrue, a nonprofit organization that has worked to champion resilient forests, clean waters, and healthy communities in Henderson County for over 30 years, and our local members, we appreciate the process that you are beginning of formulating a new 2045 Comprehensive Plan that will serve as the vision and guide for growth and development in the County for the next quarter century. As we embark on this important task together, we would like to convey the following principles and issues that we believe the comprehensive plan should address:

Public Participation – Overall, we believe that communities should play a central role in planning for their future growth and development. We advocate for a design process that invites diverse voices, including those that have traditionally been excluded or ignored. The process should be equitable and inclusive of all communities and people regardless of class or clout.

We encourage the County to engage in targeted outreach to people in historically underrepresented communities. Surveys were mailed to all property-owning residents early in the process and, while we understand that there are many other input opportunities and that anyone is welcome to participate in the process, no such targeted outreach has been planned for renters and residents of housing authorities — who are disproportionately low-to-moderate income households. And although a Spanish language survey is available, Stewart consultants reported at the October 22nd Planning Board meeting that few if any of these have been returned. We encourage the County to work with organizations that serve these communities to target outreach and solicit participation to ensure that there is equitable participation and representation of all County residents regardless of wealth. Advertising should also be expanded and conducted in multiple languages on various media outlets.

Smart Growth – MountainTrue supports economic vitality and growth in Western North Carolina without compromising our mountain ecosystem. We champion our cities and small towns, which function as economic, cultural, and residential centers. We encourage public and private development in areas where adequate infrastructure already exists. At the same time, we discourage the expansion of infrastructure that induces sprawl into natural areas or the rural landscape. We advocate for a wide variety of housing choices and multiple modes of transportation.

According to our analysis, the County can accommodate projected growth within existing urban areas by focusing on increasing density without any zoning changes. To accomplish this, the County should confine industrial uses to specifically defined areas so that communities are protected from potential impacts. The County can also discourage urban sprawl by resisting developers’ calls to expand water and sewer service beyond the urban service area. The County should also streamline the permitting and approval processes so that development decisions are more timely, transparent, and predictable for developers and residents alike.

The County has made great strides in recent years around multi-modal transit options and connectivity between communities. The Ecusta Trail, Oklawaha Greenway Feasibility Study, and Greenway Master Plan are all efforts that should be included in future planning.

Land Preservation – We support planning for development in a way that protects valued natural resources. Planning can identify critical landscapes, like agricultural lands, wetlands, forests and steep slopes, and identify strategies for preserving those resources from destruction or degradation by development. There are a wealth of resources available to planners including landslide hazard maps, the National Wetland Inventory, NC Natural Heritage Program areas, the National Land Cover Database, and others that should guide development restrictions and define priority preservation areas.

Our rural and agricultural heritage are important to our communities and the economy of Henderson County. Therefore, the County should invest in preservation by establishing a funding mechanism that is dedicated to protecting open space and agricultural and forested lands and is replenished annually.

Public Lands – MountainTrue advocates for the protection of our national and state forests in addition to our national, state, county and city parks and trails. We believe the management of public lands should maintain and restore their ecological integrity and promote recreational opportunities.

The County has a wealth of public land resources including the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Recreational Forest, Green River Game Land, privately conserved land that is publicly accessible, and many county and municipal parks and trails. The County should encourage and expand access to these resources through increased public transit options and greenway connectivity. The County should create buffers and transition zones between development and public resources, and manage these areas in a way that protects them from encroachment and reduces the threats of wildfire to surrounding communities.

Clean Water – We work to preserve and restore waterways as healthy ecosystems as well as recreational and aesthetic resources. MountainTrue supports the development and enforcement of standards and regulations to protect surface and groundwater from pollution, litter, and the negative impacts of development.

MountainTrue has been monitoring and sampling water quality in the County for decades and will be glad to share our data with planners to determine impacted waterways deserving of increased protection, development buffers, and stormwater runoff reduction measures. As climate change drives increased frequency, intensity, and quantity of rainfall in our area, it is imperative that we reduce impervious surface cover and encourage infiltration and stormwater best management practices to reduce impacts from urban and agricultural runoff on water quality. Development standards around sediment and erosion control should be updated to account for increasing rainfall. Impacts from litter, especially from single-use plastic products, should also be considered and addressed.

Clean Energy – MountainTrue supports the development of clean, sustainable, locally-produced energy. We are dedicated to helping communities transition to renewable energy. We work with local community members, policymakers, and utilities to bring our region sustainable solutions for our energy demands and to promote energy efficiency.

County facilities should incorporate renewable energy generation features, and design standards for all government buildings should promote this. New development approved by the county should similarly be encouraged to incorporate renewable energy features. Housing, especially for low-income residents, should be audited for energy usage and retrofitted to maximize energy efficiency.

Thank you for your consideration of these principles and issues as the Comprehensive Planning process moves forward, and we look forward to working with you to realize a vision for growth in Henderson County that continues an upward trajectory for economic development, preserves our rural and agricultural character, enhances our quality of life, and respects our natural resources for decades to come.

Sincerely,

Gray Jernigan
Southern Regional Director

Katie Breckheimer
Interim Southern Regional Director

CC: Henderson County Board of Commissioners
Jake Petrosky, Stewart, Inc.
Henderson County Manager and Planning Staff

SMIE: What’s Bugging Our Rivers?

A species of stonefly that is sensitive to pollution in streams. This quick, crawling predator is an indicator of overall good water quality.

MountainTrue has many water sampling programs that tell us much about the health and status of our waterways. The Stream Monitoring Information Exchange (SMIE) program is a volunteer-based water quality monitoring program that operates throughout Western North Carolina. MountainTrue works in partnership with the Environmental Quality Institute based in Black Mountain to facilitate bi-annual sampling across our Southern and High Country Regions each year. SMIE sampling efforts occur each spring and fall typically in the months of April and October.

Some of MountainTrue’s water quality monitoring programs look specifically at the chemical indicators of water samples, which give us a snapshot of the water quality at one particular moment in time. SMIE is unique in that we look for living samples to help us form a more holistic understanding of water quality over a longer period of time — a process known as biomonitoring. Biomonitoring allows us to assess the ability of certain underwater habitats to maintain the right chemical conditions needed for the survival of living aquatic species.

Close-up of an ice cube tray that we use to collect and identify species of macroinvertebrates. Pictured here are net-spinning caddisfly larvae.

So, what do we find when we’re looking for living aquatic samples?

Insects! Or benthic macroinvertebrates, if you want to get more scientific. While benthic refers to the bottom of a stream bed, macroinvertebrates are any animal without a backbone (invertebrate) that you can see without a microscope (macro). Essentially, we’re looking for stream bottom-dwelling bugs, including species like mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and many more!

Why do we care so much about bugs?

Different species of macroinvertebrates have different abilities to tolerate pollution.

Species that are highly sensitive to pollution are found in our cleanest waterways, while more pollution-tolerant species can be found in our less healthy streams. These special little bugs are excellent bioindicators — their health and presence in local waterways give us key insights into the health of our region’s aquatic ecosystems.

This year, we had many returning volunteers join us in the water, along with some new enthusiastic volunteers willing to learn on the fly. We recently wrapped up this year’s SMIE efforts after spending some colorful and scenic fall days sampling local streams. October and November saw13 hard-working volunteer teams sample the streams of Henderson, Polk, and Cleveland counties. The excitement and investment of long-standing and new volunteers who helped us throughout the 2021 sampling season was infectious — every time we don the waders, hop into the water, and rustle up rocks and leaves to scour for bugs, we get to share in discovery together.

Want to learn more about the results of these biomonitoring efforts over the years? Check out the Environmental Quality Institute’s interactive Water Quality Map to see sampling locations and review data from the past 30 years of biomonitoring efforts!

If you’re interested in becoming a SMIE volunteer, sign up for our spring season training in Hendersonville! Hosted by Americorps Water Quality Administrator and SMIE extraordinaire, Mara Chamlee, our spring SMIE training promises to be a fun day full of learning (and bug watching!) on the Green River that you won’t want to miss!

3/5/22 SMIE training: Sign up!

Swim Guide Watershed Report: Upper French Broad, Green & Broad River Watersheds

While the past year has been unkind to the French Broad River, the Green River Watershed — a headwater tributary of the Broad River — had a great year. Alternatively, the larger Broad River Watershed’s 2020-2021 highlight reel is less glamorous, but we’re happy to report commendable water quality improvement across this important watershed.

We’ll split this blog post into three sections, starting with a summary of our upper French Broad River Watershed data. Then, we’ll discuss the data we collected across the Green River and greater Broad River Watershed, summarize the good and bad news for each, and spotlight the water testing sites with the lowest and highest bacteria counts. We’ll conclude with achievable solutions for the future and a call to action so you can continue to help us protect the places we share.

Before we dive into our water quality summary, let’s review important terminology to help us better understand the data our Riverkeepers, volunteers, and Clean Waters teams worked so hard to collect, analyze, and report. Cfu, or colony forming unit, is a data metric scientists use to estimate the number of microbes present per 100 milliliters of a singular water sample. Microbes (also known as microorganisms) include bacteria, algae, and fungi. Like most things, some microbes are good for human health and some aren’t. We test for E. coli bacteria because it’s the best indicator for the presence of microbes that pose threats to human health.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 235 cfu/100mL is the safe standard for primary recreational waters, where people are most likely to engage in recreational activities involving underwater immersion and potential water ingestion.

First, let’s talk about the Upper French Broad River

About Our Swim Guide Program

Swim Guide is an international program used by Riverkeepers and other advocates to provide up-to-date recreational E. coli data for beaches, lakes, and rivers worldwide. E. coli is a bacteria found in the fecal waste of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and indicates contamination in our waterways. E. coli levels increase with rainfall events due to surface runoff and sewer overflow events.

Samples are collected every Wednesday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Volunteers collect surface water samples in a 100mL sample bottle and drop samples off at the lab, to be processed by MountainTrue staff. Results from samples are measured in MPN, the most probable number of colony-forming units (cfu). The EPA’s limit for recreational water quality is 235 cfu/100mL. The EPA estimates at that concentration, 8 in 1,000 people will contract an illness.

Pass/Fail results are updated every Friday on www.swimguide.org to inform the public about local water quality. We use the data generated from our Swim Guide Program to identify sites for follow-up sampling. We sample in both urban and rural areas. Determining the location and source of E. coli in our waterways is one way we can hold polluters accountable.

News headline: Upper French Broad Bedevilled by Bad Bacteria

The French Broad’s turbulent history with E. coli is well-known among watershed locals. Our two new testing sites along the upper French Broad at Lyons Mountain and Island Ford secured the top spots for worst water quality and highest bacteria count.

In Henderson County, Mud Creek at Brookside Camp Road experienced slight improvement from 2020 to 2021, but remains one of the worst sites we sample with an average E. coli count of 1535 cfu/100mL. Our data suggests a mix of animal agriculture, septic failures, and sewer overflows are the primary sources of E. coli pollution in Mud Creek.

The week of July 28 proved to be the summer’s worst. Just 23% of our French Broad River testing sites passed the EPA’s 235 cfu/100mL safe standard for primary recreational waters.

For more information about the larger French Broad River Watershed, check out this blog post.

Let’s move on to the Green River Watershed.

Good news headline: Green River Watershed Report Concludes ‘It’s Actually Pretty Easy Being Green’

We’re happy to report the past year saw the Green River Watershed boast no worst sites. With the exception of the week of August 18 during Hurricane Fred, all seven testing sites routinely passed the EPA’s safe standard throughout the summer.

Overall, the Green River’s water quality remains excellent for recreational users and fares much better than the French Broad River’s water quality. Out of 98 total samples, only nine failed to pass the EPA’s safe standard. Our data shows the Green River was clean 90.8% of the time we sampled it this summer.

Bad news headline: Rains of Climate Change Pose Threats to Overall Clean Green River

Users of the Green River Watershed enjoy a largely clean present. Still, the future is less certain with the potential for negative changes due to heavier summer rains. This summer saw Hurricane Fred wreak havoc across the watershed in mid-August, immediately resulting in poorer water quality. With an average value of 951.9 cfu/100mL per site, the week of August 18 proved to be the summer’s worst with six out of seven testing sites failing to pass the EPA’s safe standard.

Stormwater runoff pollution remains a formidable threat to the Green River Watershed and the whole of the Southern Blue Ridge. Without immediate and direct action, the Green River’s water quality will suffer as higher annual amounts of stormwater runoff enter the watershed due to climate change.

Now, let’s discuss the state of the Broad River Watershed.

Good news headline: Broad River Somewhat Less Bacteria-laden in 2021 than 2020

Sampled weekly from Memorial Day to Labor Day, our data concludes slight water quality improvement at all nine testing sites across the Broad River Watershed in both Rutherford and Cleveland counties from 2020-2021. We’re happy to say that the river continues to be a safe, reliable recreation spot.

Cleveland County’s Moss Lake maintains the title of best testing site, passing the EPA safe standard 100% of the time over the past two years.

Bad news headline: Development and Manure are Broad River’s Biggest Bacteria Blunders

Buffalo Creek has remained our worst testing site for two years, failing to pass the EPA’s safe standard 81% of the time. The high bacteria concentrations in Buffalo Creek are attenuated in Moss Lake, just 15 miles upstream. The nutrients associated with Buffalo Creek’s high bacteria levels continue to pose a risk for algal blooms in Moss Lake. Not all algal blooms are dangerous, but those with the potential to form in Moss Lake would pose a severe risk to water quality and surrounding biodiversity.

Lake Lure and the Rocky Broad have mixed testing results. Coupled with existing agriculture, ongoing development surrounding the Rocky Broad is likely causing an increase of bacteria-laden runoff during rain events.

Data from our two testing sites along the First Broad River indicate that the water is unsafe for recreation roughly 33% of the time. Poor agricultural practices like inadequate stream buffers and abundant cow and poultry manure in the river are the likely sources for the First Broad’s high E. coli levels.

Let’s wrap up our water quality discussion with two future news headlines:

1) Governments Must Step in to Mitigate Green River’s Worsened Water Quality

Existing stormwater infrastructure is outdated and inadequate. Local and state government action is needed to protect the Green River’s water quality from threats posed by climate change.

2) Remedying Broad River’s Bacteria Problem with Sound Policy, Infrastructure and Agriculture Investments

Despite incrementally improved water quality at each testing site, data collected from the Broad River Watershed still produced less than ideal results. The prevalence of E. coli in the watershed illuminates a dire need for workable solutions to lackluster development policies, poor agricultural practices, and deficient stormwater infrastructure.

Moving forward, MountainTrue will:

Encourage government officials to implement policies addressing land use and development impacts and make worthy investments to improve existing stormwater infrastructure.
Continue to monitor sites of most concern while aiming to pinpoint and eliminate sources of E. coli pollution at our newest testing sites in the near future.
Further develop valued relationships with community members to combat threats posed to water quality by poor animal agriculture practices.

Want to learn more about our efforts to bring about clean water for all? Check out our ILoveRivers webpage and join MountainTrue’s dedicated community of volunteers to help us protect the places we share.

October 2021 E-Vistas Newsletter

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What Kinds of Events and Outings Do You Want?

As we plan for the fall and winter of 2021-2022, we want to know your comfort level for different types of events at this point in the pandemic. How comfortable are you with indoor events? How about walking tours or workdays that take place outside? Want to go on a guided hike with us? Help inform our future events, fill out our Fall/Winter Event Survey.

‘Energy Solutions’ Bill Sets North Carolina on Path to Carbon Neutrality by 2050

On Wednesday, October 13, Governor Roy Cooper signed a bill called “Energy Solution for North Carolina” or HB 951. We commend Governor Cooper and Senator Berger for coming up with a laudable bipartisan compromise that sets aggressive clean energy goals and maintains the authority of the Utilities Commission to regulate the energy industry. The bill isn’t perfect, but, on balance, we believe HB 951 does far more good than bad. Read our analysis of the bill.

Join Us at One of Our Annual Gatherings

Protecting Ash Trees from the Emerald Ash Borer

MountainTrue’s public lands team is hard at work saving ash trees from emerald ash borer beetle. This summer, we assisted our partners with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in treating 280 ash trees in Macon and Haywood Counties. To date, MountainTrue has helped preserve more than 1,100 ash trees in Buncombe, Haywood, Macon, Madison, Transylvania, and Yancey counties.

MountainTrue Removes Invasive Plants from Rare Natural Communities

Photo by Armin Weise. From left to right: Bob Gale, Owen Carson, Brandon Wheeler, Josh Kelly, Armin Weise

MountainTrue has entered into an agreement with Pisgah National Forest to remove invasive plants from two rare grassland communities associated with rock outcrops. These areas contain dozens of rare species, and this work requires special care and expertise to ensure that we don’t inadvertently harm rare and native plants. Recently, we were able to treat 15 acres of invasives at two sites with the help of expert volunteers from EcoForesters, Equinox Environmental, and Western Carolina University. Want to get your hands dirty and volunteer? If you don’t mind difficult working conditions and breaking a sweat, contact josh@mountaintrue.org.

#BeMntTrue and Help Spread the Love for Nature and Our Region

Raise up your voice, show off your MountainTrue pride, and take part in our #BeMtnTrue Awareness Raiser!

This social media campaign will help MountainTrue reach new people and recruit more supporters and members. Take part in our #BeMtnTrue Awareness Raiser and help us build the movement to protect our communities and the places we share.

Here’s all you have to do:

Get outside and take a selfie, photo, or video of yourself doing your part to protect our communities, cleaning up our rivers and trails, or just getting out to enjoy our beautiful Southern Blue Ridge Mountains.
Then share your photos or videos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and let the world know why you’re proud of being MountainTrue.
Use the #BeMtnTrue hashtag and tag us in your post!
Our tags:
Facebook – @MountainTrue
Twitter & Instagram – @mtntrue

You can start now by taking photos and videos and sharing them on social media while the weather is beautiful. Beginning on November 22, MountainTrue will share our favorites by reposting them on Facebook, featuring them on our Instagram story highlights, and retweeting them on Twitter.

Thanks for being a part of MountainTrue. Now get out and have some fun!

Prophetic Witness, Environmental Justice and the Mountain Valley Pipeline with Rev. Michael Malcom

Join the Creation Care Alliance on Thursday, October 21, for their monthly all-region Zoom meeting featuring Rev. Michael Malcom, Executive Director of The People’s Justice Council and Alabama Interfaith Power & Light. Named by Grist as one of the “top 50 people who will change the world” in recognition of his environmental work, Rev. Malcolm will discuss his experience protesting against the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) alongside frontline community members and faith leaders. Register today.

Meet Maddy Watson, Our New Communications Associate

MountainTrue is excited to welcome Maddy Watson as our new Communications Associate. Maddy is thrilled to join the team at MountainTrue and to have the chance to pursue her passion for inclusive, equitable, and impactful conservation storytelling and action. A lifelong nature lover and a resident of Western North Carolina since 2015, she is driven to protect the scenic beauty and ancient landscapes of the Southern Blue Ridge for current and future generations of people and wildlife. Maddy likes to spend her free time exploring mountain roads, woodland trails, and antique shops. With two Bachelor of Arts degrees and a Master of Public Affairs degree from Western Carolina University, she’s ready to contribute to meaningful change in the mountain region she loves so dearly.

High Country Regional News

For Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Watauga and Wilkes counties

Cottages of Boone Continue to Pollute the Watauga River

Our High Country Water Quality Team is vigilantly collecting E. coli samples and working with the Department of Environmental Quality to resolve ongoing water quality violations from The Cottages of Boone, an apartment complex on the outskirts of Boone. The Cottages has consistently violated their discharge permit and proven to be a direct threat to water quality in the High Country. Since May of 2021, the complex has discharged over 75,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into Laurel Fork Creek, which flows into the Watauga River.

MountainTrue has reported multiple wastewater discharge violations to the NC DEQ’s Division of Water Resources. DEQ has followed up and issued notices of violation. Want to help support us in our work? Take action and sign our petition in support of our I Love Rivers action plan.

Battle Non-Native Invasive Plants in the High Country

Join MountainTrue and the High Country Habitat Restoration Coalition for an upcoming workday and help eradicate non-native invasive plants such as Oriental Bittersweet, Multiflora Rose, and Japanese Knotweed that grow along pathways and trails. MountainTrue is a member of the High Country Habitat Restoration Coalition — a coalition of agencies and non-profit partners working to educate the public about the environmental harm caused by non-native invasive plants and perform on-the-ground habitat restoration work in the High Country.

Interested in volunteering? Register for one of these upcoming events:
Oct 21 – 1–3 pm at Green Valley Community Park – 3896 Big Hill Rd, Todd, NC 28684
Oct 28 – 4–6 pm at The Greenway – 335 Hunting Hills Lane, Boone, NC, 28607
Nov 4- 1–3 pm at Valle Crucis Community Park – 2892 Broadstone Rd, Banner Elk, NC 28604

Collect Macroinvertebrates and Help Us Document the Health of our Streams

What Have We Found in the Trash Trout this Month?

Our Trash Trout remains a valuable asset for the High Country. After a week of heavy rains, our team collected over 850 individual pieces of trash. Styrofoam is the most common type of trash found, with plastic bottles coming in second place. As part of our plastics monitoring program, we collect data and record the brands and types of trash polluting our waters. Click here to learn about all the work we are doing with our plastics campaign.

Southern Regional News

For Cleveland, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania counties

Celebrate at the Southern Region Annual Gathering!

Each year, MountainTrue hosts a gathering of our members to recognize and honor outstanding volunteers, vote on new board members, and reflect on a year of hard work and accomplishments. We hope you can join us on Tuesday, October 26, from 4:30 to 6 pm at Guidon Brewing Company in Hendersonville to recognize and honor MountainTrue’s 2021 Southern Region Volunteer of the Year: Erica Shanks! We are excited to be gathering in person this year and hope you can connect with us. All attendees are required to be vaccinated. Sign up to register.

Welcome AmeriCorps Water Quality Administrator Mara Chamlee!

We’re excited to have Mara Chamlee joining us as our new AmeriCorps Water Quality Administrator in the Southern Region. She will be conducting water quality programming and educational efforts with volunteers, schools, and the greater community.

Mara is from Greenville, South Carolina, where she learned to love the ecology, landscapes, and people of the Southern Blue Ridge. Mara earned a B.S. in Biology from Furman University and focused her undergrad research on dragonflies as indicator species of water quality. Mara became especially interested in sustainable agriculture in watersheds during her time working with the watershed team at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. Since then, she has worked as a farm-to-school educator and food justice advocate in Vermont and Massachusetts.

Mara is finishing up a master’s degree in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University, focusing on agriculture and watershed management in the Yampa Valley of Northwest Colorado. In her free time, Mara loves spending time outside, especially biking, backpacking, and gardening. Welcome to the team, Mara!

Weigh in on the Henderson County 2045 Comprehensive Plan!

Henderson County has kicked off its Comprehensive Planning effort with a Community Survey. This is an important opportunity for you to have a voice in how our county meets the challenges of climate change, a growing population, and increased pressures on our built and natural environments. We’ve prepared a guide for members of MountainTrue who want to see our community grow sustainably and responsibly. Click here for a list of suggested responses and more information about the survey and other opportunities for public input.

Learn about Sustainable Growth with Chris Joyell and Gray Jernigan

The League of Women Voters of Henderson County (LWVHC) is hosting a virtual program with guest speakers from MountainTrue sharing principles for sustainable and responsible growth in Henderson County on Wednesday, November 3 at 5 pm. Chris Joyell, Director, Healthy Communities, and Gray Jernigan, Southern Regional Director & Green Riverkeeper, will share guidance to assist public participation in the Henderson County 2045 Comprehensive Plan. The Henderson County Comprehensive Plan will serve as the vision and guide for development for the next 25 years. For more information and to register for this Zoom event, visit www.lwvhcnc.org.

Volunteer to help us monitor aquatic macroinvertebrates (that’s fancy for water bugs)!

Do aquatic science with us by participating in the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange (SMIE) program this fall. Aquatic insects, or macroinvertebrates, are indicators of water quality. By collecting these water critters, we can rate the water quality of our local streams and monitor changes over time based on the families and species of insects collected. If you are experienced in monitoring aquatic macroinvertebrates, we can get you on a sampling team before Thanksgiving. If you are inexperienced but want to learn, you can observe and assist a team this season and get trained in the future. Please email our Americorps Water Quality Administrator, Mara Chamlee, at wqa@mountaintrue.org.

Western Regional News

For Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties in NC, and Towns and Union counties in GA

Western Region Annual Member Gathering Tonight

Each year, MountainTrue hosts a gathering of our members to celebrate outstanding volunteers, vote on new board members, and reflect on a year of hard work and accomplishments. Instead of one big gathering this year, we’re having smaller outdoor regional gatherings. In our Western Region, we’re gathering tonight, Wednesday, October 20th, at 4:30 pm at the Big Bear picnic pavilion in Franklin, NC. We hope you can join us to recognize and honor MountainTrue’s 2021 Western Region Volunteer of the Year: Tod Fullerton! We are excited to be gathering in person this year and hope you can connect with us. Sign up to register.

Volunteer to Help Restore Native Plant Diversity at Island Park

Nicole Harris shows off some Chinese privet plants she pulled up at Island Park on February 10, 2021.

Through our ongoing partnership to eradicate non-native invasive plants at Island Park in Bryson City, MountainTrue and the Tuckaseegee River Alliance are hosting another set of volunteer work sessions on Saturday, October 23, from 10 am-12 pm and 1-3 pm.

We will use hand tools to cut the remaining invasive shrubs and then treat the roots. Each session is limited to 15 volunteers. No prior experience is necessary, and we will provide tools and training. Rain date: October 30. Register today to help restore native plant diversity at Bryson City’s Island Park: morning (10-12) and afternoon (1-3).

Eleventh Annual Lake Chatuge Shoreline Cleanup

Join other lake-loving volunteers on the first Saturday in November for MountainTrue’s annual Lake Chatuge shoreline cleanup. The kickoff is at 9 am at the Towns County Swim Beach Pavilion across from the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, where volunteers will get their assigned cleanup locations and receive bags, gloves, and safety information. Coffee and grab-n-go breakfast snacks will be available, along with free t-shirts for the first 50 volunteers. After two hours of shoreline cleaning at the assigned site, volunteers will meet back at the pavilion at 11:30 for prizes. Please register in advance to help organizers assign volunteers to teams.

Katie Caruso is Helping Battle Non-Native Invasive Plants This Fall

If you participate in one of our non-native invasive plant volunteer workdays this fall, you’ll likely meet Katie Caruso, MountainTrue West’s new non-native Invasive Plant Intern. Since early September, Katie has been working with Western Region Program Coordinator Tony Ward to control non-native invasive plants at places like Mayor’s Park and Hamilton Gardens in Hiawassee, Georgia, and Island Park in Bryson City. Katie graduated in 2020 from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a B.S. in Biology. She most recently completed a one-year term with AmeriCorps doing habitat restoration work (including removing non-native invasive plants!) on the Oʻahu National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Hawaii.

Join Us for an Annual Member Gathering in Your Area!

We are excited to be gathering in person this year to connect with our members, celebrate our MountainTrue Award winners, and see each others’ smiling faces!

Each year, MountainTrue hosts a gathering of our members to recognize and honor outstanding volunteers, vote on new board members, and reflect on a year of hard work and accomplishments. Due to the COVID resurgence, we are holding four separate outdoor events — one in each region — in order to reduce the size of our crowd and to protect the safety of others. All attendees are required to be vaccinated. We hope you can join us. If you have questions about any of these events, please contact Susan Bean at susan@mountaintrue.org. Registration is accessible below for both the High Country and Central Region events.

Check here to confirm that your membership is current, and if you are not a member you can join or renew when you RSVP!

Vaccination Required

Due to the high rate of COVID infections and hospitalizations across our region, we are requiring that all attendees be fully vaccinated in order to participate. Please come prepared to show proof of vaccination when you arrive. If you are not vaccinated, you will have an opportunity to vote for new and returning board members online.

October 7th – High Country Region
Valle Crucis Community Park in Banner Elk, NC
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

October 20th – Western Region
Big Bear Pavilion in Downtown Franklin, NC
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

October 26th – Southern Region
Guidon Brewing Company in Hendersonville, NC
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

October 28th – Central Region
HiWire Brewing Bier Garden in Asheville, NC
4:30 – 6:00PM

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