Take Action: Oppose Weakening Macon County’s Watershed & Flood Protection Ordinances

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Let Macon County Commissioners know that you oppose weakening Macon County’s Watershed Protection and Flood Damage Prevention ordinances by allowing higher density for recreational vehicle parks in public water supply watersheds and removing restrictions on the use of fill dirt to elevate new houses or expand development in high-risk flood areas.

Commissioners may vote on changes to one or both of these ordinances at their upcoming meeting set for Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Commission Boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse, located at 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC, 28734.

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Eighteen years ago, to better protect public safety and the environment in a region with steep mountain slopes and a higher risk of flooding, Macon County adopted an ordinance that is stricter than the state’s minimum standards. A natural floodplain allows water to spread out during a flood event, soak into the soil, and reduce a river’s speed and destructive power.

Now, Macon County Commissioners are considering weakening the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to allow property owners to use fill material in these areas — decreasing safety and increasing public and private losses due to flooding, including potential loss of life. Using fill dirt to build homes and other buildings in flood-prone areas reduces the amount of floodplain area we have to mitigate flooding. Allowing this activity without requiring a permit puts more people at risk of floods by encouraging more homebuilding and development in floodplains. It also adds to development pressure on large agricultural properties currently in the floodplain, leading to an increase in loss of farmland.

Using fill dirt and materials in the floodplain will also increase costs for residents and taxpayers by raising insurance premiums and creating the need for the government to update floodplain maps more often. The increased risk to life and property from accelerated flooding will also demand costly county resources and put county emergency personnel and volunteer rescuers at risk.

Eleven years ago, county commissioners amended Macon County’s Watershed Protection Ordinance to make Recreational Vehicle (RV) parks ineligible for Special Nonresidential Intensity Allocations. Similarly to the changes to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, allowing increased density for RV parks would encourage their development in public drinking water supply watersheds. Most of the large tracts of land in these watersheds are currently in floodplains and in agricultural production.

Former county leaders recognized that because of Macon County’s steep slopes, narrow floodplains, and fast-flowing streams, the standard state ordinance wasn’t good enough and adopted stronger water supply watershed protections and floodplain restrictions that have served the county well for more than a decade. Tell our current leaders to maintain this legacy for Macon County’s future.

Take Action: Protect Hellbenders

SOS: Save Our Salamanders!

Friday, December 13 was a lucky day for eastern hellbender salamanders. Following years of advocacy from environmental organizations and conservation-minded individuals, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing hellbenders as an endangered species across their entire range. Listing this species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a huge step towards their continued existence, offering substantial federal protections that have historically been massively successful in bolstering populations of other listed species. To ensure the hellbender is officially listed, we need you to comment in support of protecting them through the ESA.

Hellbenders experience population decline as a result of sedimentation, water quality degradation, and habitat loss. Impacts from Hurricane Helene also displaced hellbender populations, severely degrading available habitat in some of the healthiest parts of their range. Since the ESA is so successful in protecting vulnerable species and bolstering declining populations, it is crucial that the hellbender be listed and protected as quickly as possible.

Please comment now to support listing the eastern hellbender as a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act. Remember to make your comment your own – unique comments carry more weight with agency staff. Comments are due February 11, 2025.

Protect the Nolichucky River: Tell NC DEQ: Require Responsible Railroad Build Back by CSX

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Photo courtesy of Jubal Roe.

We need you to tell North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to require railroad company CSX to apply for a permit to rebuild in the Nolichucky River Gorge. Please email Regional Supervisor Andrew Moore to request that DEQ make CSX apply for a permit.

Take Action + Tell NC DEQ: Require Responsible Railroad Build Back by CSX

Through their rebuilding work, CSX has left extensive damage in their wake on the Tennessee side of the Gorge. Fortunately, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has prohibited CSX from mining rock from the Nolichucky or its tributaries until new approvals are in place. North Carolina’s DEQ can ensure that the NC stretch of the Nolichucky does not experience the same damage as the Tennessee side by requiring CSX to apply for an additional permit prior to rebuilding. This permit must prohibit removal of rock below the Ordinary High Water Mark.

The Army Corps’ mandate follows an immediate cease and desist and notice of violation issued by Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to CSX. TDEC found that CSX mined rock well below the Ordinary High Water Mark, causing significant damage to the riverbed. The damages caused by CSX will now be the responsibility of Tennessee taxpayers. North Carolina’s DEQ can prevent the same fate by requiring CSX to apply for a permit that allows the railroad to rebuild, but prevents the removal of rock below the Ordinary High Water Mark. The permit should also require that CSX remove all leftover materials and temporary access roads following completion of their work.

Please take action to protect North Carolina’s side of the Nolichucky River Gorge and ensure that CSX, not NC taxpayers, are financially responsible for rebuilding the railroad. As always, thank you for your attention and action!

Action Alert: Help Us Remove Debris From Our Rivers After Hurricane Helene

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Our rivers are in a state of emergency. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has left our waterways choked with millions of tons of debris and pollution. While our communities have shown resilience in the face of this disaster, the task of restoring our rivers is a pressing and ongoing one. Below are photos from a recent scouting trip down the Swannanoa River that underscore just how much work is still left to be done.

Yet, we’re left anxiously waiting for the “Big Cleanup,” which will require millions of dollars in state investment. This will help us get boots on the ground and hire hundreds of out-of-work people in our region to clean up and restore our rivers.

Please take action today by emailing your NC Senate and House leaders to let them know that the recovery of our rivers and local outdoor economy needs their help. It is a pressing issue that requires immediate attention and inclusion in Helene relief legislation expected to be taken up this week at the NC General Assembly.

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What’s at Stake:

Outdoor Recreation Drives Our Economy: Outdoor recreation contributes $4.9 billion in visitor spending annually to our region, supports 48,000 full-time jobs, and generates $197.5 million in county taxes.
Our Rivers Are Central to Recreation: 36% of visitors come to fish, 24% to swim, and 14% to paddle or tube. Without healthy rivers, these economic and cultural benefits are at risk. (MADE x MTNS Outdoor Recreation Participation Study)
A Unified Call for Action: The health of our rivers is not a partisan issue. It’s a matter of public safety, environmental stewardship, and economic vitality.

We need your voice to convince our lawmakers to swiftly pass a robust Hurricane Relief package that includes the funding we need to remove debris from our rivers and protect our outdoor economy.

Take Action Today:

Email Your Legislators Now:
Tell your NC Senate and House leaders why restoring our rivers matters to you and your community.
Make It Personal:
Share your story about how our rivers impact your life, whether it’s through fishing, paddling, swimming, or simply enjoying their natural beauty. Make sure your voice is heard.
Spread the Word:
Share this alert with friends and family. The more people who take action, the louder our call for restoration will be.

Together, we can make a difference. Let’s restore our rivers, protect our outdoor economy, and ensure that future generations can enjoy the beauty and bounty of Western North Carolina’s waterways.

Sincerely,

Hartwell Carson
French Broad Riverkeeper
& Interim Clean Waters Director

Photos taken from a November 15 scouting trip down the Swannanoa

Protect the Broad River Basin: Comment on The 2024 Broad River Basin Plan for the Future of Our Rivers, Lakes, & Streams

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Paddlers enjoying the First Broad River.

Now is your chance to make your voice heard and help influence our Department of Environmental Quality in planning for a healthy Broad River Watershed.

The 2024 Broad River Basin Plan is being developed for the Broad River Basin by the North Carolina Division of Water Resources (DWR). DWR wants to hear from you – tell DWR to stand firm in their recommendations to:

Improve stream monitoring.
Offer financial incentives for the preservation or restoration of riparian areas.
Actively assess water quality in Kings Mountain Reservoir.
Evaluate and better support the staffing and resource needs of the biological assessment and ambient monitoring programs.

Ask DWR to do more by:

Developing a list of known significant violations or exceedances in discharge limits for permitted facilities, how these violations can affect water quality, and how DEQ staff should address and monitor these polluters.
Study the combined effects on water quality from the application of fertilizer (including poultry manure), sludge (land applied residuals) application to fields, and runoff from animal farming operations.
Develop minimum flow requirements for Lake Adger Dam into the Green River and Lake Lure Dam into the Broad River.
Acknowledge the extensive recreational use of our rivers for swimming, boating, and fishing, and protect these waterways for their current uses.
Planning for floods from storms like Helene and developing an extensive resiliency strategy for the future.

Resources

>> Click here to read MountainTrue’s comments

>>Click here to read the 2024 Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan Draft

Speak Up for Old Growth Forests

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We need you to tell the US Forest Service to implement strong protections for old-growth forests. Please submit a comment urging the Forest Service to strengthen NOGA by clarifying its language and better considering eastern forests.

The Forest Service is currently seeking public comment on their proposed National Old-Growth Amendment (NOGA). The amendment, which responds to a Biden-Harris Administration executive order mandating stronger protections for old-growth forests, would require all national forest plans across the country to incorporate additional consideration of old-growth forest management needs.

This amendment is an important step towards protecting a shrinking resource, but it needs to be improved. In its current form, NOGA lacks clarity and includes loopholes that could inadvertently worsen current management practices for old-growth forests. Far from meeting its intent of protecting and restoring old-growth forests, NOGA’s current language could allow for inappropriate old-growth harvest.

Submit a Comment

Comments are due September 20th.

Old-growth forests store large amounts of carbon, clean the air we breathe, provide critical wildlife habitat, maintain and increase biodiversity, filter water, and reduce wildfire risks. The old-growth forests of the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests are home to several endangered and threatened species, including four species of endangered bats and the imperiled Blue Ridge lineage of green salamanders. Unfortunately, across the nation, old-growth forests are in decline, facing stressors from pests, extreme weather, and commercial logging. NOGA offers an opportunity to better protect and restore old-growth forests, but only if it’s finalized and implemented properly.

Our Concerns:

As written, NOGA fails to allow passive management as a method of preserving or enhancing old-growth characteristics. Although the Forest Service recognizes that a “hands-off” approach can better serve old-growth forests, especially in areas that are not fire-prone, NOGA currently prescribes only active management options.
Solution: NOGA should be amended to include passive management as an option for managing old-growth forests.
Proactive stewardship of old-growth forests has the potential to degrade the old-growth ecosystem. The ambiguity of the draft text could lead to an interpretation that degradation of old-growth forests is ok if that degradation contributes to a project meeting other goals.
Solution: NOGA should include a non-degradation clause for cases where proactive stewardship methods are employed.
The exceptions allowed under NOGA are unclear. This lack of clarity could lead to a situation where development within old-growth forests is permitted, so long as there is sufficient old-growth outside of the developed area to make up for some loss within the developed area.
Solution: The Forest Service should remove the exception that allows for development at an “ecologically appropriate scale” and employ clear, already defined language to improve NOGA’s clarity.
While old-growth forests decline, threats to old-growth increase. Simply preserving existing old-growth will not be enough to stop the decline, so recruiting mature forests into an old-growth stage is crucial to protecting these ecosystems. As written, NOGA does not offer a clear path by which the Forest Service can identify suitable mature forests and manage them to become old-growth.
Solution: NOGA should be amended to include a clear plan for recruitment of mature forests into old-growth conditions.
Lastly, NOGA prescribes a one-size-fits-all approach to forest management. As written, NOGA characterizes threats to old-growth forests uniformly across the country. While fire poses a risk to western forests, eastern old-growth forests are more vulnerable to improper management and commercial logging. The same management actions that benefit fire-prone western forests will not be suitable for moist eastern forests.
Solution: NOGA should better characterize threats and more specifically prescribe management actions based on forest type and location.

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