Wilma Dykeman Legacy spring lecture series to focus on ‘water troubles, water solutions’

“Water Troubles and Water Solutions: Western North Carolina Water in Context”
A spring series of Saturday afternoon presentations at Pack Memorial Library
Sponsored by The Wilma Dykeman Legacy and Buncombe County Public Libraries

Western North Carolina is one of the world’s richest areas in natural water resources. Ten rivers begin their flow in our mountains – five on the east side of the Eastern Continental Divide, five on the west side. Major headwaters include the westward flowing French Broad and Little Tennessee, and the eastward flowing Yadkin, Catawba, and Broad.

Water is central to our lives. Water accounts for two-thirds of the human body. Except in a few extraordinary cases, humans cannot live longer than one week without water. Water also sustains the life of all plants and animals. We have words for places with little or no water: badlands, desert, wasteland.

What will happen to our water in Western North Carolina over the next 50 years?

A century ago, Western North Carolina was home to over 10 billion board feet of timber standing as the last best virgin hardwood forest on the planet. But a combination of the chestnut blight and devastating logging practices put an end to this treasure. Will a combination of drought and our own thoughtless behaviors put an end to our water treasure?

According to the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, “the 2007-2008 drought in North Carolina was the worst in the 112-year recorded rainfall history…At one point, as many as 30 cities and towns were confronted with running out of water or having to ration it.” In 2008, The Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland assessed the economic impacts of climate change on North Carolina and concluded that “increased severity of droughts in the future from unmitigated climate change could put an even greater strain on the already stressed water supply systems of North Carolina.”

How can Western North Carolina ensure an abundant and affordable supply of usable water forever?

It is a complicated challenge. To help us think about these questions, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy has invited experts from other areas in North Carolina, the South, and North America to share with us their water issues.

The presentations will be on five Saturdays from late March to early May in Pack Library’s Lord Auditorium (67 Haywood St.)  – next to the U.S. Cellular Center.

Following each presentation, a responder from the Asheville area will take the podium and share his or her thoughts about the presentation and how it relates to Western North Carolina.

The Wilma Dykeman Legacy is a tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 2012 to sustain and promote Wilma’s values by sponsoring workshops, events, and other programs. For more information, visit www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org.

For more information, contact:
Jim Stokely
President
Wilma Dykeman Legacy
60 Shuford Road
Weaverville, NC 28787
stokely.jim@gmail.com
(828) 458-5813

Feb. 5: Blue Ridge Biofuels talks energy, recycling

At 7 p.m. Feb. 5, Sierra Club will present a program called: “Biofuels: A fully integrated local energy system.” 

Representatives from Blue Ridge Biofuels will discuss recycling used cooking oil into bio diesel fuel for vehicles and heating homes.

The event will be at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, located at 1 Edwin Place (intersection of Charlotte Street).

For information, contact  Judy Mattox at  (828) 683-2176.

Feb. 8- Little Bald Mountain Winter Plant Ecology Hike

*POSTPONED UNTIL 2/22 DUE TO PARKWAY CLOSURES*

Join WNCA and Ron Lance for a FREE Winter Plant Identification Hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Bald Mountain!

Ron Lance is a native plant specialist who has more than 30 years of experience growing, studying and teaching about native plants. Ron has written numerous tree & shrub guides and keys for Southeastern plants, including The Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge, The Surveyor’s Guide to the Trees of North Carolina, his self-published Hawthorns of the Southeastern United States; Hawthorns and Medlars, co-authored with James B. Phillips, and his newest release, Woody Plants of the Southeastern US – A Winter Guide, a college-level reference book with illustrations and keys for winter plant identification (University of GA Press).

We will begin our hike at the north end of the Pisgah Inn’s parking lot. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail (white blazes) will lead us for the first 0.3 mile to the trail junction that ascends to Little Bald Mountain, passing noteworthy examples of living yet ailing American chestnut trees and interesting shrubs like the minnie-bush and beaked hazelnut. At the summit of Little Bald (0.5 mile distance and 350 ‘higher than parking), we will pass through a dwarf beech forest as we descend the oak/laurel-covered ridge southeasterly on the Pilot Rock Trail (orange blazes) to a connector trail (yellow blaze) which leads north to Laurel Mountain Trail, about 0.9 mile and 608’ lower than the peak. We then take the Laurel Mountain Trail back to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, about a mile walk along north-facing slopes rich in hardwood/rhododendron forests, rocks and seepages. Returning to parking along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (about 0.8 mile) we will pass through aromatic patches of Galax (leaf odors) and oak forests as we complete a 3.2 mile loop. This trail has a variety of slope exposures, so if a cool day, remember those clothing layers! Please bring water, lunch, and dress appropriately including proper footwear.

There will be a carpool available for those who which to partake we will meet at Earth Fare Westgate at 9:15 a.m.

An alternate hike for inclement weather and parkway closures will be at Elk Mountain.

• What: Little Bald Mountain Winter Plant Ecology Hike
• When: Saturday February 8 at 10 a.m.
• Cost: FREE
• Where: Pisgah Inn Parking Lot 408.6 Blue Ridge Pkwy, Brevard, NC 28712
• RSVP: Isabelle Rios, Education and Outings Coordinator, 828.258.8737 ext. 201 or Isabelle@WNCA.org