Our Rivers Need Your Help  — Your Gift Can Help Them Heal 

One thing that unites us all is the universal need for clean water. That’s why people like Liz McGuirl are working alongside MountainTrue staff to clean up and protect our rivers and streams. 

Liz works on the Madison County debris cleanup team. She once lived right along the French Broad River in Asheville’s River Arts District but was forced to evacuate during Hurricane Helene. That experience deepened her commitment to protecting the waterways she once called home.

While working on the Madison County cleanup crew, she was struck by the amount of PVC pipe tangled in the trees along the river. As Liz told us, it’s like “threading string through a needle”—just an intricate, tangled mess. “I’ve done a lot of different river cleanups with different organizations. MountainTrue is one of my favorites to work with because I feel that they’re very conscious of what happened out here.”

“Our rivers are crucial to tourism and the outdoor industry here in Western North Carolina. For rafters and kayakers, you can’t run the river if there’s a car sticking out or, you know, metal pieces. It’s a danger. People come to Western North Carolina to be outdoors, to be on the rivers, to be on the trails.” – Liz McGuirl

MountainTrue, with the help of people like Liz, is getting to those “hard to reach” areas that are being overlooked. Bottom line, we need your help to get the job done. Donate today to help save our rivers and the livelihoods of those who rely on them. 

MountainTrue Updates

We’re hiring for four positions: 

✅ Organizing Director: Accepting applications on a rolling basis: learn more + apply. 

✅ Creation Care Alliance Organizer: Accepting applications on a rolling basis: learn more + apply. 

✅ Western Region Watershed Outreach Coordinator: Accepting applications until April 24, 2025. 

✅ Appalachian Design Center Project Manager: Accepting applications on a rolling basis: learn more + apply. 

Recover x MountainTrue for Earth Month

Our friends at Recover designed a limited edition MountainTrue t-shirt in celebration of Earth Month! A portion of the proceeds from this t-shirt will go to MountainTrue. Click here to check it out and get yours before May 1! 

Pirani and Feetures sales to benefit MountainTrue 

MountainTrue will receive $5 from every purchase of Pirani Tumblers in “Last Light” and “Day Break”  from April 22-27 and $5 from every purchase of Feetures’ “Smoky and Rocky” limited-edition sock (launching on April 15, while supplies last).

Helene Recovery Panel recording now available 

We were humbled by the big crowd that turned out for the Hurricane Helene Recovery Panel & Discussion at the NC Arboretum on Thursday, April 3! The event was recorded; you can watch it here. 

Thanks to everyone who filled out our Member Survey! 

Your voice helps us grow even stronger. Congratulations to Tish Moore Whiting, who won the drawing for the MountainTrue beanie.

Clean Waters Program Updates

Clean Water Director Hartwell Carson takes a water sample.

New report: Water Quality Impacts of Helene

Our Clean Waters team compiled a report summarizing MountainTrue’s sampling efforts post-Hurricane Helene. Read the report here. 

In-stream debris removal update

See heavy machinery in the river? Check out MountainTrue’s statement on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work in WNC. You can let us know how crews are doing in your area here.

Key issues to watch for and report are: 

✔️ Lack of timber matting beneath vehicles and machines entering waterways. 

✔️ Spilled petroleum products or any other hazardous waste. 

✔️ Any form of excavation (digging) of soil or woody debris (versus pulling).  

✔️ Removal of live trees leaning less than 30%. 

✔️ Removal of rootballs with less than 50% exposure. 

✔️ Intact clumps of soil attached to the roots of removed trees. 

✔️ Removal of downed trees existing prior to the storm. 

✔️ Use of vehicles or machines in wetlands.  

Volunteer with us!

Our four riverkeepers are still hosting cleanups and volunteer workdays throughout their respective watersheds; check out our events page to learn more + sign up to volunteer!

Broad Riverkeeper

Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell (right) with ROC team members on the Broad River.

Cleanups update

Rutherford Outdoor Coalition (ROC) joined MountainTrue for two river cleanup days in March on the Upper Broad River below Lake Lure. The Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure area experienced some of the worst flooding seen during Hurricane Helene. Much of the debris and trash overflowed the Lake Lure dam and was deposited along the banks and islands in the Broad River. With the help of 35 volunteers, we pulled out over 2,000lbs of debris!

We’ve also been teaming up with ROC to scout and clear the most-used sections of the Broad River. We’ll continue these scouting/clearing missions and keep you posted on what we find. You can also visit ROC’s online Broad River paddle trail map for more information on access sites and recent section reports.

May days on the First Broad River Paddle Trail 

The month of May will be an opportunity for river enthusiasts to explore the First Broad River Paddle Trail. Every Saturday, Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell will host a guided river adventure on a different section of the 65-mile river trail. Learn more + register. 

Green Riverkeeper

Cleanups update

We’ve appreciated everyone’s patience in waiting for volunteer opportunities to arise to help clean up the Lower Green, Big Hungry and the Pacolet Rivers! As the Army Corps moves farther along in their cleanup process, we now feel better about scheduling some volunteer days for folks to get involved! 

Join us on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. to help clean up Big Hungry at the confluence of Big Hungry and the Green River at the put-in of the Narrows. Learn more + register. 

Join us for the 19th Annual Spring Green Bash on 5/3

Come out to the Green Brash from 5-9 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at Green River Adventures in Historic Downtown Saluda (150 E Main St., Saluda, NC 28773). Green River Adventures will be honoring our hometown heroes, Saluda Fire and Rescue, for their extraordinary work fighting the recent wildfires. We’ll have live music from The Sun Sippers, a t-shirt tie-dye activity from Looking Glass Realty, brews from Oskar Blues, and a kayak raffle to benefit the Green Riverkeeper from Big Adventures featuring the new LiquidLogic Torque!

Watauga Riverkeeper

Cleanups update

Huge shoutout to our amazing cleanup partners like The Speckled Trout Outfitters, New River Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, town officials, and Public Works folks for supporting us with their resources; because of this support, we’ve been able to remove more debris than we could have ever imagined! With the help of our partners and over 350 tireless volunteers, we’ve hauled over 67,000lbs of debris from our local waterways in the High Country alone. We’re also very thankful for groups like Bethany Lutheran Church and our friends out in Cove Creek for sharing their stories and offering supplies or labor to help begin recovering the places we share.

Lees McRae students planting livestakes along the banks of the Watauga River on a recent workday.

Livestaking season update

Our winter ‘24-’25 livestaking season is officially over. While the weather was challenging, your High Country team and over 100 dedicated volunteers planted over 25,000 livestakes from January-March. Our team is encouraged by surefire signs of spring, like the leaf buds slowly popping out on livestakes planted this winter. We could not have planted as many as we did without the support of our incredible local businesses, organizations, schools, and churches that consistently showed up with laughs, stories, tears, and a fierce work ethic. Thank you to our friends at Mast General Store, Valle Crucis Conference Center, Rumple Memorial Presbyterian, The Middle Fork Greenway, and Lees McRae College for supporting these planting efforts. Each year, through our livestaking program, we can support local nurseries, provide cost-effective stream stabilization resources to folks in need, and shade our streams to support our local fisheries. Thank you for helping our rivers and community become more resilient for generations to come!

French Broad Riverkeeper

Cleanups update

Volunteers recently helped our team locate a sewer leak in the Swannanoa, NC, area. We finally located the leak last week after conducting intensive water sampling in the area for three weeks – the Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewerage District folks immediately came out to fix it. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out to help!

Healthy Communities Program Updates

Housing & Transportation Director Susan Bean (3rd from right) with housing partners in Raleigh, NC.

Housing lobby day in Raleigh

We were in the state capital recently, along with lots of affordable housing partners, talking to elected officials about the need for more housing choices in our communities. It was good to keep reminding decision-makers about the depths of the housing shortage and ways Helene has exacerbated this crisis. We’re thankful for their ongoing efforts to help our region get more stable housing!

Momentum is building to eliminate parking requirements

Housing & Transportation Director Susan Bean was quoted in this Mountain Xpress article last month supporting the movement to eliminate parking requirements. We applaud the City of Asheville for having eliminated these burdensome requirements in parts of the city and are hopeful for the expansion of this policy later this year. We’re also very excited about a bill moving at the state legislature this year that could eliminate parking requirements statewide! How wonderful to be trading pavement for homes and trees!

Help our region prioritize safety on our roads

Safe Streets for WNC is a five-county plan that examines high-crash locations across the region and develops strategies to reduce crashes and fatalities on our region’s roads for drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists- everyone. Help reduce the number of people being harmed on our roads by participating in this project’s online survey. 

Resilient Forests Program Updates

Conservation groups sue USFS over Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan

After more than a decade of public engagement, partnerships, and planning, the U.S. Forest Service had the opportunity to get it right. Instead, on March 20, 2023, they finalized a Forest Management Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests that takes us backward — threatening some of the most beloved and biologically diverse landscapes in Western North Carolina. That’s why MountainTrue is taking legal action. We’re joining with our partners to sue the Forest Service over its deeply flawed Forest Plan — a plan that undermines public trust, sacrifices rare species habitat and existing old-growth forests, and sets a dangerous precedent for forest management across the Southern Appalachians. Read more. 

MountainTrue is seeking volunteers to document landslides

We’re seeking volunteers for a new citizen science program to help document landslide impacts to roads and trails on public lands, with a particular focus on Nantahala, Pisgah, and Cherokee National Forests. All you need to participate is the desire to get out in the woods and a smartphone. The data collected will be shared with land stewardship agencies and other partners, and will be useful in setting priorities for infrastructure repair following the storm. To participate, please fill out this volunteer interest form.