Help Restore Richmond Hill Park with MountainTrue

Asheville, NC — Are you interested in helping to restore native plants to Asheville’s largest forested park? Take part in one of MountainTrue’s Invasive Plant Removal Days at Richmond Hill Park. The park is home to many special native plant and animal species, and with your help we can help them thrive.

Who: MountainTrue Invasive Removal Program

What: Richmond Hill Invasive Plant Removal Days

When: October 8, 2016, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: 280 Richmond Hill Dr, Asheville, NC 28806 United States

Sign up here.

Volunteers help stop the spread of harmful non-native invasive species and return native species to this unique park. The invasive plants we’ll be treating are Oriental bittersweet, privet, multiflora rose and Japanese stiltgrass, among others. As a result of this treatment, habitat for spring ephemeral wildflowers such as trillium, Jack-in-the-pulpit, mayapple and other species of rich soils will be restored.

Restoring natives is vital in helping to preserve biodiversity and it also benefits birds and other wildlife by providing habitat, nectar for pollinators and fruit and nuts. Richmond Hill Park is a very special place in Asheville close to the French Broad River that needs your help!

MountainTrue’s Richmond Hill Invasive Plant Removal Days take place on the second Saturday of every month except for January and February.

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.

Carolyn Finney, Author of Black Faces, White Spaces to Speak at UNC Asheville Sept. 29

**Carolyn Finney, Author of Black Faces, White Spaces to Speak at UNC Asheville Sept. 29**

Developing cultural competency within the discussion of public lands and conservation is an important aspect for promoting the use and care of public lands among all populations. MountainTrue values collaboration among diverse constituencies to achieve more effective success in protecting our public lands and forests. Carolyn Finney brings a unique voice to this dialogue, and considers factors that contribute to how individuals build a relationship with their environment.

Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors (UNC Press, 2014), will speak at UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29 in the Humanities Lecture Hall. This event is free and open to everyone.

Finney, now assistant professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, pursued an acting career for eleven years, but a backpacking trip around the world and living in Nepal changed the course of her life. Returning to school in the U.S. as a student and now as a professor and cultural geographer, Finney explores how difference, identity, representation, and power play a significant role in determining how people negotiate their daily lives in relation to the environment. As a Fulbright fellow, Finney also has researched the impact of tourism and modernization on Nepalese women and the environment.

Finney serves on the U.S. National Parks Advisory Board working to assist the National Park Service in engaging relations of reciprocity with diverse communities. Her talk is part of UNC Asheville’s celebration of the National Park Service Centennial.

Finney says the aim of her work is to develop greater cultural competency within environmental organizations and institutions, challenge media outlets on their representation of difference, and increase awareness of how privilege shapes who gets to speak to environmental issues and determine policy and action. By engaging art, science and popular culture, she works to create new frameworks of engagement where diverse communities and individuals, environmental organizations, government agencies and academic institutions can establish and nurture healthy human/environment relationships.

For more information, contact Deborah Miles, director of UNC Asheville’s Center for Diversity Education, at dmiles@unca.edu or 828.232.5024.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival Sells Out; Is Huge Success

A big thank you to everyone who bought tickets to and came out to the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on September 1 to support MountainTrue and watch some great outdoor adventure and nature short films.

Despite the threat of rain earlier in the day, we had a sold out crowd of more than 300 attendees and clear evening skies. Sierra Nevada’s outdoor amphitheater was a perfect setting for a perfect evening.

To see pictures of your friends and the gorgeous Sierra Nevada amphitheater at sunset, check out our images on facebook.

Thanks to your generous support, we surpassed our fundraising goal for first outdoor festival in a new partnership with Sierra Nevada Brewery, and brought in over $6,000! We also enjoyed meeting new supporters, sharing the grounds with our partners who keep our public lands vibrant and accessible, and, of course, watching the inspiring films on the big screen under the stars.

We’d also like to thank all of this years sponsors: Sierra Nevada, Mountain Xpress, AE Global Media, Blue Ridge Energy Systems, BorgWarner Inc., FLS Energy, Holly Spring Farm, JAG and Associates Construction and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty. Also, a huge thanks to Asheville Bicycle Company for donating a cool, new bike for our raffle.

Thanks again for a great night and we hope to see you all next spring for the 2017 Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

Josh Kelly, A Pioneer in Our Midst!

MountainTrue’s Public Lands Field Biologist Josh Kelly is an avid angler.

Josh Kelly, MountainTrue’s dedicated field biologist, has been recognized by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine as one of 100 pioneers who have helped shape our region’s recreation, conservation, and adventure resources. The magazine explains:

“While benefactors and leaders in art, science, business, politics, medicine and other realms see their names emblazoned on buildings and their legacies revered for centuries, the people who advance outdoor recreation and the protection of public lands generally do their work without fanfare, quietly pushing the boundaries of human endurance and selflessly advocating on behalf of resources to benefit mankind.”

Josh is lauded for his work defending the wild forests of western North Carolina and beyond and joins such luminaries as author, anthologist and recording artist Thomas Rain Crowe, President Jimmy Carter and Daniel Boone. Josh tells the magazine, “the most rewarding work I have done has involved helping to steer Forest Service management towards a paradigm where we as a society give back to the land, rather than just take.”

As part of his work on the U.S. Forest Service’s Management Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, Josh has helped bring together a broad coalition of wilderness advocates, conservationists and recreation groups that supports more trails and more public access, and also protection for more backcountry and wild places. Learn more at: https://mountaintrue.org/a-win-win-mou/

A Letter From Our Co-Directors On Our Legislative Agenda

The following is an email from MountainTrue Co-Directors Julie Mayfield and Bob Wagner on our legislative agenda for the 2016 session.

Dear MountainTrue Supporter:

People who live in our part of the state know all too well that North Carolina’s legislature can have an enormous impact – good and bad – on the preservation and protection of our natural resources.

That’s why MountainTrue tracks legislation and engages legislators in Raleigh in addition to all of our local advocacy and on-the-ground work in WNC.

Our legislative work starts again soon this year, as the General Assembly prepares to open its 2016 session on April 25. We are writing to update you about our legislative efforts, which focus on several important policy areas this year, and to invite you to help us speak up for a clean environment and a sustainable economy.

As lawmakers head back to Raleigh, here’s a list of the issues we’ll be talking to them about:

Clean Energy – State energy policies, like North Carolina’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, and tax policies that incentivize the use of solar, wind and other renewable energy have made our state a national leader in clean-tech jobs and the evolution away from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, lawmakers in Raleigh continue to attack these policies, and MountainTrue will again be a strong voice this session for maintaining our state’s reputation as a leader on clean energy.
Clean Water – In WNC, the growth of the brewing industry is just one example of how a strong economy depends on clean water. Before the Great Recession, North Carolina was a leader in clean water investments such as the Clean Water Management Trust fund and other funding sources. Since then, lawmakers have made slow but steady progress in restoring this funding. This year, MountainTrue will work to see that these investments continue to grow. We’ll also advocate for expanded funding help farmers and other property owners manage their land in ways that protect water quality for downstream neighbors.
Coal Ash – Effective clean up and disposal of the state’s coal ash will be a long-term effort that requires accountability and transparency among all stakeholders. Unfortunately, legal maneuverings and political posturing have been a poor replacement for good policy on coal ash. This session, MountainTrue will oppose efforts to water down coal ash laws or reduce public accountability and transparency in the clean up effort.
Local Control – Local communities must be able to find sustainable solutions to important challenges, including transportation, planning and development. Unfortunately, recent legislatures have too often reduced this authority. MountainTrue opposes any further reduction in local governments’ ability to shape sustainable futures for their citizens.
Fair and Open Government – Our government works best when all citizens have an equal voice, regardless of their background, political affiliation, income – or where they live. That’s why MountainTrue supports a nonpartisan redistrictingprocess, so that all North Carolinians are equally represented at all levels of government.

In addition to engaging lawmakers on these issues, we will also be taking groups of MountainTrue supporters to Raleigh this session to meet with their lawmakers. We invite you to join us. The first of these trips is scheduled for early May. If you are interested in participating, please contact our campaign director Joan Walker.

To help keep you update on important environmental issues in Raleigh during the session, MountainTrue also publishes the MTRaleigh Report. To subscribe, please visithttps://mountaintrue.org/ncga/ and click on the link at the top of the page.

We also have information about your legislators on our website. If you would like to learn more about your legislator, their voting records, their fundraising and their contact information, visit the MountainTrue website at https://mountaintrue.org/ncga.

Finally – thank you! Your support of MountainTrue makes it possible for us to protect – both locally and in Raleigh – the places we share and love in Western North Carolina.

Sincerely,

Julie Mayfield and Bob Wagner
Co-Directors, MountainTrue

MountainTrue Presents Water Quality Report to Henderson County

On April 4, MountainTrue presented an update on our Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) program to the Henderson County Commissioners. This program has been collecting data for 20 years, and last year we engaged over 40 volunteers to test 35 sites throughout Henderson County.

EQI, the Environmental Quality Institute, has published the full report for years 2013-2014, and we’ve created an executive summary. The results show that efforts to protect the Mills and Green River have paid off with water quality improving in those and other watersheds. Others, like Mud Creek, are not doing so well, so we’ll be focusing in those areas with more tree plantings, clean-up days and other efforts to improve water quality.

Read the full EQI report [pdf]
Read the executive summary [pdf]
View the slideshow that we presented to the Henderson County Commissioners. [pdf]

This program depends on the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. We can’t do it without you! Contact Evan Parker, Water Quality Administrator at wqa@mountaintrue.org to get involved.