The Western North Carolina Alliance has earned a Green Plus certification, becoming part of a nation-wide network of businesses that have challenged themselves to achieve the high standards of the Green Plus program and dedicated themselves to being a sustainable business.
“We’re very proud to have earned this certification, which aligns perfectly with our work to protect the mountains, rivers and forests of this beautiful region,” WNCA Co-Director Bob Wagner said. “We’re equally proud to be the first Green Plus certified business in Western North Carolina.”
Green Plus is a business improvement program that works on the philosophy of triple bottom line sustainability – meaning the company helps small and medium-sized businesses improve their bottom line through environmental, social, and economic practices – what Green Plus calls “the Planet, People, and Performance aspects of a business.”
Learn more about Green Plus here.
Merger Background:
Our boards and staff have been in this focused discussion for eight months. We explored several options for working together more closely, and we’ve talked to our major funders, partner groups, and other stakeholders. The overwhelming conclusion from this exploration was that we should combine forces and, earlier this year, all three boards voted to move toward a formal merger that will result in a single organization.
Here’s why we think a merger makes sense:
1. Through increased local presence, we want to have a stronger influence on policy at all levels of government.
2. We want to build a stronger organization and increase our geographic reach.
3. We need to strengthen our grassroots engagement and involve a broader spectrum of the population to be most successful.
What’s in it for the Alliance? For starters, the opportunity to work on issues in parts of our region where we have not worked much because these sister organizations were working there.
By merging, we will gain members, a new office, and staff in Hendersonville, which will enable us to engage citizens in Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania counties in ways we have not before.
We will also gain new members in Highlands and Cashiers and begin work on issues there, hopefully so much so that we will be able to re-staff our Franklin office with a full-time person. That will allow us to better serve not just Highlands and Cashiers, but all of the far western counties. In short, a larger organization will have more resources and expertise to tackle local and regional issues better than each organization has been able to on its own.
A stronger, more visible organization will also more easily attract new members and help build a larger community of advocates for the protection of Western North Carolina’s natural resources and quality of life. We firmly believe that the whole will be more than the sum of its parts.
A merger does mean some changes for the Alliance.
First, while the new organization will be a membership organization, new bylaws will change the Alliance’s historical chapter/task force and board structure.
There will still be a way for people to come together around local issues, but those local groups will not necessarily be represented on the board. Instead, the new bylaws will require geographic diversity on the board so that all regions, especially those covered by ECO and J-MCA, are well represented.
Finally, while the merged organization will likely inhabit the Alliance’s corporate form, we will take this opportunity to explore a name change to reflect the merger and to better convey the mission of the new organization.
Questions? Contact WNCA Co-Director Julie Mayfield at Julie@WNCA.org, or WNCA Co-Director Bob Wagner at BobW@WNCA.org.
Thank you for being part of this exciting opportunity for WNCA and for our work to protect the mountains, rivers and forests of this beautiful region!
By Cynthia Strain, chairwoman of WNCA’s B.E.A.R. Task Force
Highlands is about to get a lot smarter about bears since Mayor Pat Taylor signed a proclamation designating May as Bear Aware Month.
With more than 10,000 black bears in North Carolina, it is not surprising that human/bear encounters and their attendant problems are becoming more common. Even though a bear will naturally try to avoid humans, we keep putting temptations in their paths. This is dangerous, as people in central Florida are finding out the hard way.
In December 2013 and again in April 2014, women were attacked by black bears while walking down the street or being on their own property. In the first case, a woman was walking her dog. Even though garbage was not present, bears had been in the neighborhood going through trashcans. In the second case (Lake Mary, Fla.) five bears were going through rubbish left in an open garage when one of them mauled the homeowner.
It is bad enough that two women were seriously injured. Worse is that nine bears (at least) were killed as a result. Think about it: nine bears lost their lives because humans were careless with their waste!
The bears that were targeted by state wildlife officers were killed because they showed no fear of humans, and thus, were considered potentially dangerous.
We are fortunate that this hasn’t happened yet in Highlands. Today more and more people realize their responsibility in properly managing their waste, their birdfeeders, their BBQ’s, and their pets. That is the only way we will be able to live in peace with our bear neighbors.
For the month of May, the B.E.A.R. Task Force will have weekly articles about bears in the Highlander Newspaper. Next week look for one about bear family life by Kathy Sherrard, volunteer educator with B.E.A.R. and Appalachian Bear Rescue.
If you want more information, pick up one of our brochures on living and hiking safely in bear country at the Post Office, Town Hall, Chamber of Commerce, Mill Creek Gallery and Mountain Heritage.
Photo courtesy of Showtime
Hollywood celebrities and respected journalists span the globe to explore the issues of climate change and cover intimate stories of human triumph and tragedy. Watch new episodes Sundays at 10 p.m.ET/PT, only on SHOWTIME.
The May 4 episode is called “Preacher’s Daughter,” and features Anna Jane Joyner, WNCA’s campaign coordinator, and national Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt.
Check out a sneak preview of Preacher’s Daughter below.
You can also watch the series’ first episode, in full, below.
Raleigh—Late last night, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory released his so-called “Comprehensive Coal Ash Action Plan” claiming the legislation will “close loopholes in state law to strengthen the state’s ability to regulate coal ash ponds.” But comprehensive review of the proposed plan conducted by environmental experts and public interest attorneys reveals that it categorically fails to live up to the hype and meaningfully protect North Carolinians from poisoned drinking water as well as another tragic and toxic coal ash spill. Despite repeated requests by news media and environmental groups the Governor refused to release copies of the plan until 6:38 p.m. – after deadlines for most news organizations.
CCAAP would allow Duke Energy to continue poisoning North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia drinking water sources with a witch’s brew of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium because it allows Duke Energy to cover up coal ash ponds with dirt and leave them unattended and unmonitored on the banks of nearby rivers and lakes. The bill is a tremendous waste of time when people and the environment are threatened throughout the state. NC citizens desperately need real solutions – not a papering over of the problem.
McCrory’s proposal bends over backwards to accommodate Duke’s discretion at every turn, providing almost infinite options for closure and leniency concerning timing, and fails to set clear deadlines and strict environmental and public health standards that Duke would need to meet. For example, there are no deadlines for initiating or completing closure or for sampling wells within a half-mile from coal ash dump sites. In general, most deadlines are left to the discretion of Duke; the few deadlines that are mentioned include a clause that allows the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to waive the deadline.
The bill appears designed to moot enforcement action that may actually result in real deadlines and real solutions. Whole sections of the proposal were copied verbatim from the woefully inadequate and uniformly rejected proposed consent agreements for the Asheville and Riverbend coal-fired power plants. This language was crafted after months of close coordination between the Governor’s administration and Duke Energy. They are now the subject of criminal investigation.
“This proposed bill does not require a cleanup and asks the Legislature and the public to trust DENR and Duke to decide what to do with Duke’s polluting coal ash pits,” said Frank Holleman, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The law currently requires Duke to clean up its coal ash pollution and the Legislature and the public should not be asked to trust the two organizations which are currently appearing before a federal criminal grand jury about their coal ash activities.”
When the consent agreements were originally proposed by Duke and DENR, approximately 5,000 North Carolinians and more than 30 community groups unanimously opposed them as inadequate to protect public health and the environment.
“This is just another blatant example of the Governor completely ignoring the voters and tax payers of North Carolina by making a gratuitous attempt to exempt his former employer from any real or meaningful requirements to clean up their toxic ash ponds,” said Donna Lisenby, Global Coal Campaign Coordinator for Waterkeeper Alliance.
Judge Rideway recently ruled that North Carolina law already gives DENR the authority—and the duty—to require Duke Energy to take immediate action to eliminate the source of its groundwater pollution. That state court ruling proves the Governor’s proposal to be a thorough waste of time.
“The Governor is attempting to negotiate the terms of a weak consent agreement in the legislature. This will only serve to make the bill vulnerable to further weakening by Duke’s lobbying machine,” Lisenby added.
“The bill is riddled with loopholes that benefit Duke to the detriment of the health and safety of North Carolinians and their environment,” said Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans. “If the goal is to close and clean up the state’s dangerous, leaking and unstable coal ash ponds, this plan is an abject failure.”
“The Governor’s current proposal makes clear that he is happy to let Duke remain in the driver’s seat rather than take charge and use the authority he already has to address coal ash pollution,” said Julie Mayfield, an attorney and co-director of the Western North Carolina Alliance. “Duke and DENR also continue to act as if environmental advocates are not part of this debate. In fact, we started this debate, and the sooner Duke and DENR realize we will be part of the solution, the sooner the environment and people will be protected from coal ash pollution,” she concluded.
(US Forest Service)
Asheville Citizen-Times: April 6, 2014
“The public can give input on their favorite forest views, as well as how the U.S. Forest Service manages wilderness, specially designated areas and scenic views at an April 17 meeting at Crowne Plaza Resort. This public session is the latest in the three-phase, multiyear process of revising the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests Management Plan.
Forest Service planner Ruth Berner said the plan, expected to be completed by 2016, will guide management of Nantahala and Pisgah forests on how to manage for timber, wildlife, water, recreation and other uses, for the next 15 years.
Nantahala and Pisgah are two of four national forests in North Carolina, covering more than 1 million acres of the Western North Carolina mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala are among the most visited national forests in the nation, with more than 6 million visitors a year.”
MEETING DETAILS:
The U.S. Forest Service will hold a discussion on wilderness and special designated areas from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. April 17, with a drop-in session on the Scenery Management System following, at the Crowne Plaza Resort, 1 Resort Drive, Asheville.
To participate in the wilderness and/or designated areas discussion, RSVP to NCPlanRevision@fs.fed.us by Thursday. For more information on the plan, or to comment, click here.
To send comments, use the comment link on the above website, or click here.
