MountainTrue Volunteers Help Clean-up Section of Wash Creek

On Tuesday October 11, MountainTrue partnered with the Hendersonville Department of Public Works to clear a significant amount of garbage and debris from the section of Wash Creek behind Beacon Commons in Hendersonville.

On the scene getting their hands dirty and helping coordinate the efforts were MountainTrue Water Quality Administrator Jack Henderson and Volunteer Coordinator for Wash Creek Rick Burt.

“We’re always happy to work with residents who are ready and willing to get their hands dirty cleaning up their neighborhood rivers and streams.” says Jack Henderson, MountainTrue Water Quality Administrator. “It’s common to find a few bag loads of bottles and cans, but when you start finding construction materials and furniture, the evidence points to something more nefarious. We encourage residents to call the authorities if you see someone dumping trash.”

With the help of Beacon Commons residents Joy Richardson, Roger Richardson, Gary Graham, Susan Genevish, Bill Mittelmaier and Ken Genevish and a truck and cable, provided by Joshua Hoard of the City of Hendersonville, we were able to remove a water-logged mattress, box spring, a large metal canister, rolls of cable wire, aluminum siding, a metal pole sunk in concrete, a volley ball, several large pieces of metal and 11 bags of cans, bottles, broken glass, old clothing and other trash from the river.

After the trash was collected, they took the time to remove some invasive plant species that were choking our native creekside trees. MountainTrue also has a non-native invasive species program. Residents interested in getting involved in our water quality programs or invasive species removal programs should visit mountaintrue.org.

Join us for the MountainTrue Fall Gathering at New Belgium!

Wednesday, October 26, join us at New Belgium Brewery in Asheville for our annual Fall Gathering. Expect great beer, delicious food and some sweet, sweet jams from Asheville’s very own The Midnight Plowboys.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO ALL CURRENT MEMBERS.

MountainTrue 2016 Fall Gathering
Wednesday October 26 from 6 PM to 8 PM
New Belgium Brewery’s Brewhouse
21 Craven Street, Asheville

If you’re a current member, RSVP HERE.
If you would like to join or renew your membership, CLICK HERE.
(Once you’ve joined or renewed, don’t forget to rsvp!)
If you’re not sure about your member status, see if your name is on our current member list. CLICK HERE.

With our proud mountain heritage, beautiful mountain vistas, lush forests and rushing streams, Western North Carolina is an amazing and special place to call home. The support of our members has helped us fight for our communities and protect one of the richest environments in the world.

Support WNC by renewing your membership and making a donation to MountainTrue today. CLICK HERE.

If you would prefer to send us a check, please make your donation payable to MountainTrue and mail it to us at 29 N. Market St., Suite 610, Asheville, NC 28801.

Thanks to our members and supporters, MountainTrue was voted WNC’s #1 Environmental Group by the readers of Mountain Xpress. Our programs represent you, your values and the issues that you care about. Here are some of the things we’ve accomplished together so far in 2016:

Protecting Our Waters

We launched the first monthly water-quality monitoring program in the Watauga River basin with 13 sites monitored by MountainTrue volunteers and staff.
We continue fighting Duke Energy in court over its coal-ash pollution at the Cliffside plant in Rutherford County and organized over a hundred people to attend hearings and demand the full clean-up of coal ash pollution.
We planted 6,000 live stakes that will grow, stabilize banks, and stop erosion along 12 miles of river frontage in the French Broad River basin.

Preserving Our Public Lands

As a leader in Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest planning process, we helped develop a groundbreaking agreement between wilderness, conservation and recreation advocates in support of more trails and public access and more backcountry and wild places.
We prevented over 100 acres of clear cutting on Nantahala National Forest, helped eradicate invasive species on the Grandfather Ranger District, and raised awareness of the natural wonders of Bluff Mountain with a BioBlitz that documented over 400 plant species.

Building Vibrant Communities

We mobilized over 1,000 comments on the I-26 Connector project in Asheville. In response, NCDOT selected the community-developed and supported Alternative 4B for the bridge section of the project. We celebrate this victory while continuing to work to reduce overall size, improve design, and include more bike/pedestrian infrastructure.

Working for Clean Energy

We intervened in Duke Energy’s application for approval of a new natural-gas plant in Asheville and a new peaker plant to be built in 2023. We asserted that Duke had not made its case for additional fossil fuel capacity, and the Public Utilities Commission agreed, declining to approve the extra peaker plant. Now, we are hard at work providing leadership for the new City of Asheville-Buncombe County-Duke Energy partnership to develop and implement a plan to increase energy efficiency and grow our renewable energy infrastructure.

Engaging Citizens

After three years of advocacy in support of surrounding neighbors, we achieved victory at the CTS site in Buncombe County when EPA required an interim cleanup of a large pool of subsurface contamination. Next, we will make sure that the long-term cleanup plan is as protective as possible.
MountainTrue members and staff took lobbying trips during the 2016 legislative session to be your voice in Raleigh. We are also hosting “meet and greets” between our members and candidates vying to replace our retiring WNC legislators.
We brought nationally renowned evangelical Christian and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe to Asheville. She met with 80 faith leaders at a prayer breakfast and addressed more than 300 people in the First Baptist Church sanctuary.

BECOME A MOUNTAINTRUE MEMBER AND BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT FOR A BETTER WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. CLICK HERE.

Thank you for your generous support of our work!

Henderson County Big Sweep Hauls 4,400 Lbs of Trash from Local Rivers and Streams

On Saturday, September 10, volunteers banded together to sweep Henderson County of as much garbage as possible! Nine teams of volunteers were formed including Mills River Partnership, Friends of Wash Cree, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Rotary Club, Cub Scout Troop 603, Mud Creek, East Hendersonville High School, Sierra Nevada and more!

This year’s haul far exceeded last year’s success. The 2016 Henderson County Big Sweep recruited 63 volunteers who served a total of 169 hours! We swept 11 miles of local rivers, picked up 24 tires, 81 bags of trash for a grand total of approximately 4,400 pounds of trash and recycling. What a successful event!

Don Huneycutt and 13 others from the Rotary Club of Hendersonville cleaned out 2,030 lbs. of debris from just Mud Creek. Under the leadership of Don, their team captain and the Henderson County Big Sweep coordinator for the past two years, they removed car and tractor trailer tires, and other trash that cluttered the waterway.

In 2005, the Rotary club joined the Adopt-A- Stream program, dedicated to improving the conditions of the water sources in our community, and adopted a portion of Mud Creek which runs directly through the town of Hendersonville and can become unsightly with garbage and trash discarded carelessly on its banks and in its waters.

“In the past six years, it has not been unusual for our team to remove up to 2000 lbs of debris from Mud Creek in a four hour period,” says Big Sweep team captain, Don Huneycutt. “It takes teamwork and hard work to safely collect all the items from both the creek and the banks and then transfer everything to a central collection point for pickup by the city. Teamwork and hard work also make for a satisfying and fun time”

MountainTrue wants to thank all of the volunteers who gave so much of their time and made this event possible! An important part of calling a region home is taking the time to care for it, and the rivers in Henderson County are better off with 4,400 fewer pounds of garbage floating in them.

Be on the look out for next year’s event and join in on the fun!

October 8: Migratory Bird Walk & Talk with Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway

Hendersonville, N.C. — The public is invited to join Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway on October 8 at 10 a.m. for a Migratory Bird Walk & Talk, led by Cherie Pittillo and Emilie Travis, experienced local birders and board members of the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society.

This Walk & Talk will focus on the fall migration of birds. Cherie and Emilie have a wealth of knowledge about migratory birds in western North Carolina as well as their winter habitats around the Caribbean basin. Organized by the Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway, this walk is co-sponsored by the City of Hendersonville and Wild Birds Unlimited.

Cherie and Emilie will help participants identify our birds and understand their habits and needs as they prepare to winter in North Carolina or travel to warmer weather in the south. They will discuss the importance of habitat, with special emphasis on our mountains, and the critical role residents play in maintaining a safe environment for birds. This is a fun and informal program, and your questions and observations are welcomed.

Participants should meet at the pavilion in Hendersonville’s Patton Park parking lot (114 East Clairmont Drive). The walk will last about 90 minutes, is free to the public, and will be held rain or shine. Please come equipped with good walking shoes and rain protection. For questions about this walk & talk, please contact: Jack Robinson at jackrobinsonmerida@gmail.com, Cel. 828-335-2479

The Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway is a group of local organizations and area residents who recognize the many community values offered by greenway trails, such as improved health, recreation, off-road transportation, connectivity, preserved open space, and economic opportunity. The Oklawaha Greenway currently connects Berkeley Park, Patton Park, and Jackson Park. The Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway plan to promote the use of the existing greenway, and are working to connect it to Blue Ridge Community College. Their members include the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, Friends of the Ecusta Trail, MountainTrue, the League of Women Voters of Henderson County, and representatives from the community at large.

Hendersonville Community Co-op BYOBag Program Makes Donation to MountainTrue

The Hendersonville Community Co-op donated $275 through its BYOBag program to MountainTrue, a WNC-region-wide environmental and conservation nonprofit. The check was presented by Gretchen Schott Cummins, Hendersonville Communtity Co-op’s Community Outreach Coordinator to Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue Southern Regional Director in the company of MountainTrue’s Bag Monster, the mascot of MountainTrue’s recycling and waste management program.

Gretchen Schott Cummins, Hendersonville Communtity Co-op’s Community Outreach Coordinator; Bag Monster, the mascot of MountainTrue’s recycling and waste management program, and Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue Southern Regional Director. Download photo.

Through the BYOBag program, money is raised by the member-owners and shoppers at the Hendersonville Community Co-op. Each time a shopper brings their own bag for their groceries, they are saving the Co-op an expense and helping to reduce, re-use and recycle. The Co-op hands the shopper a wooden chip which they then deposit into the box representing the non-profit organization of their choice. The Hendersonville Community Co-op then passes on the savings to recipients like MountainTrue in the form of a financial donation.

“When our member-owners and shoppers bring their own bags, they are doing their part for the environment and they get a chance to make a donation, 10 cents at a time, to a worthy cause like MountainTrue,” says Gretchen Schott Cummins, Hendersonville Communtiy Co-op’s Community Outreach Coordinator. “Each token represents one less bag that needs to be produced from raw materials, and one less bag that ends up in a landfill.”

“We’re happy to accept this check not only because we plan on putting the money to good use, but because we are proud to know that it represents 2,750 people who cast their vote of confidence in the mission of MountainTrue by putting their chip in our box,” says Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue Southern Regional Director. “We sincerely appreciate everything that the Co-op does for the environment and our local community.”

MountainTrue shares the co-op’s commitment to waste-reduction. It’s Recycling and Solid Waste Committee promotes city, county and regional recycling including curb-side pick-up, and advocacy towards improved reduce, reuse, and recycling programs. The committee educates the public and policymakers about best practices by speaking at Commission meetings, writing letters to the editor, holding public forums, contacting school and businesses, and organizing eco-tours. The committee also coordinates with the county recycling of Christmas trees into mulch in early January. Residents interested in joining the committee are encouraged to stop by the MountainTrue Sourthern Regional Office at 611 N. Church Street in Hendersonville for its regular meetings on the third Wednesday of every month at 4:30 p.m..

Liquidlogic Donates Kayak for Water Monitoring

First in Fleet for MountainTrue’s Southern Region

Liquidlogic, the fletcher-based whitewater and crossover kayak manufacturer, has donated a Remix XP10 crossover kayak to MountainTrue to help them keep Western North Carolina’s rivers healthy, clean and safe places to swim and play.

“We’re thankful for everything MountainTrue does to keep our rivers clean, and we’re glad to donate a Liquidlogic boat to help advance their work,” said Tyler Brown, Director of Marketing. “With this boat going to the Southern Regional Office in Hendersonville, we know that they’ll put it to great use to protect water quality in our backyard.”

Photo above: Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue Southern Regional Director, accepts the Remix XP10 from Miqe Alexander, LiquidLogic Assistant Warehouse Manager

This will be the first boat in MountainTrue’s fleet that is solely dedicated to work in the organization’s Southern Region, covering Henderson, Transylvania, Polk and Rutherford counties.

Gray Jernigan, MountainTrue Southern Regional Director, explains, “This donation will significantly improve our ability to monitor local waterways and respond to pollution reports. We are so grateful to have Liquidlogic as a supporter of MountainTrue’s work and as a member of our community.”

About MountainTrue:
MountainTrue is Western North Carolina’s premier advocate for environmental stewardship. We are committed to keeping our mountain region a beautiful place to live, work and play. Our members protect our forests, clean up our rivers, plan vibrant and livable communities, and advocate for a sound and sustainable future for all residents of WNC.

About Liquidlogic:
Located in Fletcher, NC, Liquidlogic Kayaks focuses on creating the highest quality kayaks in whitewater and crossover paddling. Beginning as a dream along the banks of the Green River, Liquidlogic was founded in 2000 and has quickly grown to become a worldwide brand with distribution centers in Europe, New Zealand, Japan, and Russia. Founded by Woody Callaway, Shane Benedict, Bryon Phillips, Liquidlogic is a company owned and operated by paddlers who have paddled on all types of water around the world, but the mountains of Western North Carolina had their hearts, specifically, the Green River.