40th Anniversary Celebration
MountainTrue Annual Gathering 2022
40th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 40 years of successes and partnerships with the MountainTrue team at the Salvage Station on Wednesday, October 12, 2022!
About the event
2022 marks MountainTrue’s 40th anniversary, so we’re celebrating in a big way! Join us for this year’s 1982 throwback-themed gathering and enjoy good food, drinks, stories, and company as we celebrate 40 years of protecting the places we share. The online auction includes exciting adventures and experiences donated by Asheville Yoga Center, Navitat, MountainTrue’s riverkeepers, and more. Online bidding will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, September 19, and end at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12. Event attendees can place in-person bids until 7:30 p.m. at the October 12 event. All funds raised support MountainTrue’s work in the Southern Blue Ridge.
We’ll also take time to congratulate and recognize our outstanding Regional Volunteer of the Year Award winners: Hayden Cheek (High Country Region), Don Cooper (Southern Region), Stacey Cassedy (Western Region), Jim Clark (Central Region), as well as this year’s Esther Cunningham Award winner: Grady Nance.
Where
The Salvage Station: 466 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28801
(on-site parking available)
When
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Auction
Click here to check out our exciting auction item lineup!
Snacks
Heavy hors d’oeuvres provided by Chef Steven Moore of The Broke Stove catering.
MountainTrue since 1982
Visit our 40th anniversary webpage to read about our organization’s collaborative history, monumental successes, and the important folks who helped shape our organization into what it is today. You can also sign up to participate in one of our two 40th anniversary challenges and earn your special edition merit badge (pictured) designed by Greg Tuthill!
RSVP
Become a MountainTrue member
Thank You to Our 40th Anniversary Sponsors
Protecting the Places We Share All Summer Long
A MountainTrue summer is spent
Protecting the places we share.
Let’s invest in our shared future by working together to protect our public lands, mountain waterways, and communities.
Having trouble donating?
Contact Development and Operations Coordinator Amy Finkler by email (amy@mountaintrue.org) or phone (828-713-1480).
We’re counting on you
Your support helps us do what we’re most passionate about — protecting the places we share. MountainTrue is your champion, working alongside you and other environmental organizations to protect and improve the quality of our environment. We take a two-pronged approach, working at both the grassroots and policy levels.
At home
Our four regional offices allow the MountainTrue team to assume a hyper-local approach to our work, focusing on issues that matter most to you.
In Raleigh
Our staff advocates for state-wide policy changes in Raleigh as well as with elected officials in our cities, towns, and counties.
In our communities
Our Healthy Communities Program advocates for vibrant, thriving urban and rural communities with equitable access to affordable housing.
On the rivers
With four in-house riverkeepers looking after the Broad, French Broad, Green, and Watauga rivers, MountainTrue is its own ecosystem of water defenders and protectors.
In the forests
Our Public Lands team monitors timber sales on over one million acres of public land to ensure old-growth stands, water quality, and sensitive ecosystems in these ancient mountain forests are protected.
In biodiverse habitats
We help to restore native plant and animal habitats by safely treating and removing nonnative invasive species, because abundant, thriving native biodiversity is our best defense against climate change.
French Broad Paddle Trail & Recreation Manager Position
Position Description
This is a full-time paid position based in MountainTrue’s Central Region. This position is focused on stewarding and expanding the French Broad River State Paddle Trail and supporting MountainTrue’s outdoor recreation projects and programming in Western North Carolina. The paddle trail work will consume most of this person’s time for the first 18-24 months. The recreation portion of the position will grow over time as the paddle trail improvements are completed.
Responsibilities
French Broad Paddle Trail Administration
- Coordinate with NC State Parks – State Trails program:
- Great Trails State Coalition
- 2023 Year of the Trail
- Complete the Trails funding
- Website information
- Coordinate with nonprofit paddle trail partners as well as government and outfitter partners
- Write and implement grants to support Paddle Trail projects and programming
- Manage French Broad Paddle Trail website: www.frenchbroadpaddle.com:
- Keep standing information and photos updated and informative.
- Add timely and relevant information as applicable.
- Receive and manage campsite bookings.
- Create and manage event bookings as applicable.
- Respond to questions from users and the public as they arise.
- Manage map sales and other swag as applicable.
French Broad Paddle Trail Stewardship
- Conduct routine stewardship of the six MountainTrue-managed Paddle Trail campsites:
- Routine stewardship includes: mowing grass, brushing vegetation, shoveling fire pits, cleaning toilets, stocking supplies, repairing picnic tables, clearing steps/access, removing fallen trees, repairing and adding signage, picking up litter, etc.
- Help maintain the shared pickup truck, trailer, boats, mowers, tools, supplies, equipment, etc.
- Support partners in routine maintenance of other parts of the Paddle Trail:
- Clearing debris jams/strainers.
- Stewarding public access points and riverside parks.
- Maintaining and contributing to public signage.
- Manage French Broad Riverkeeper’s Guide Book:
- Coordinate updates, printing, sales, advertisements, etc.
- Incorporate State Trail language and information.
- Consider creation of other mapping resources, such as additional print maps, applications, etc.
French Broad River Paddle Trail Expansion
- Develop and implement an updated business and marketing/branding plan with Mountain BizWorks.
- Upgrade Paddle Trail website for ease of use and maintenance.
- Plan and lead paddling events to inspire and educate users.
- Add and update signage along Paddle Trail: mile-markers, bridges, river access sites, campsites, hazards.
- Improve MountainTrue-managed campsites, including new access points, compost toilets, campsite expansion, etc
- Stackhouse River Access: coordinate with private boaters, commercial outfitters, and land managers to expand, improve, and maintain private boater parking.
- Hot Springs River Access: work with NOC and Madison County to secure long-term public access and improvements for users.
- Woodfin Greenway & Blueway: support the project, including Woodfin Wave.
- Strategic Master Plan for the French Broad River Blueway in Transylvania County: help implement the plan through technical support, project management, and fundraising.
- Mud Creek: support efforts to steward stream corridor for trash and woody debris, and facilitate public access for paddlers, anglers, etc.
- Lead and support events, sponsorships, media outreach, sharing Paddle Trail, information to other map/information sources, consider creation of swag, etc.
Regional Recreation Support
Add technical support and project management capacity to MountainTrue’s regional directors, healthy communities program, and partnering organizations for outdoor recreation endeavors.
- Inventory, assess, prioritize, and provide technical support to projects focused on outdoor recreation amenities, including parks, trails, greenways, river access, other public lands, etc.
- Procure pertinent information and data for comment periods, presentations, and outreach relating to public land management, policy updates, protection designations, etc.
- Support prioritization, planning, and technical operations relating to dam removal for recreational and ecological benefits.
- Utilize GIS mapping and analysis to support the responsibilities listed above.
- Equitably engage with marginalized communities to advance public access opportunities.
Qualifications
- Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and inclusion
- Ability to organize and lead programs with partners, members, and the public
- Good with tools and maintenance, including weed eater, riding mower, chainsaw, and power tools
- Ability to work under all weather conditions
- Self-reliant, good problem solver, results-oriented
- Ability to make decisions in a changing environment and anticipate future needs
- Energetic, flexible, collaborative, and proactive. Team player.
The following are preferred:
- College or advanced degree in a field related to the environment or outdoor recreation
- Experience with online communications tools
- Mapping experience
- Paddling and outdoor recreation experience
Compensation
Mid-40s. Benefits package includes 20-25 vacation days per year, 12 holidays, sick leave, sabbatical after five years, health insurance, simple IRA with employer contribution of up to 3%.
How to Apply
Email cover letter, resume, and three references to French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson at hartwell@mountaintrue.org. The subject line should read “French Broad Paddle Trail and Recreation Manager”. The cover letter should include answers to the following questions in 600 words or less:
- Why are you interested in this position?
- Why do you think you would be good at it?
Application deadline: September 30, 2022
Henderson County Can Accommodate Growth without Sprawl
Henderson County Can Accommodate Growth without Sprawl
The Henderson County Planning Department is circulating a draft Future Land Use Map that contradicts our community’s priorities as reflected in the County’s own survey results. The draft map prioritizes sprawl — development that spreads too far into the countryside, unnecessarily destroying forests, farmland, and rural communities — at great expense to taxpayers and against the desires of county residents.
Fortunately, Henderson County has plenty of space to accommodate new residents in areas where development and infrastructure already exist.
This is the Future Land Use Map released by Henderson County. Source: https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/planning/page/planning-board-workshop
It looks very green, but let’s take a closer look.
Here is Henderson County. Permanently protected lands like Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Forest are shaded green. Greenways appear as dotted green lines, with the Ecusta Trail running east-west and the Oklawaha Greenway running north-south.
Here we’ve shaded the municipalities in gray –Hendersonville, Fletcher, Laurel Park, Flat Rock, and Mills River. The County’s plan does not include these towns. County land that is served by water & sewer is shaded in dark yellow. Taken together, these areas have the existing infrastructure to support new development.
The state estimates that Henderson County should expect about 32,000 new residents over the next 20 years. If vacant land in the towns and the shaded county land were built out according to existing zoning, they could absorb three times as many people–nearly 95,000 new residents.
Here’s our version of the County’s Future Land Use Map. We’ve changed the color of areas open to development and sprawl from green to a more neutral light yellow.
If this land were built out, the County could accommodate an additional 75,000 people. If you add the 95,000 people that can already fit on vacant land served by sewer and water, you get a plan that accommodates 170,000 new residents when we need less than 1/5th of that.
In short, this is a recipe for sprawl, and it comes at the expense of taxpayers and our agricultural and natural heritage.
So to repeat, Henderson County can protect more forested lands and farms, save tax dollars and still accommodate new residents.
Let our commissioners know there are smarter ways to grow. Click here to take action.
Take Action to Support Good Comprehensive Planning
Henderson County is drafting its new Comprehensive Plan — the blueprint that will guide growth and development here for the next twenty years. This is a critical opportunity to have a voice in how our communities grow and develop to meet the challenges of climate change, a growing population, and increased pressures on our built environment.
Signing Up for the Hike-a-Thon: A Step by Step Guide
Signing Up for the Hike-a-Thon: A Step by Step Guide
