Dear Friends and Supporters,

When Mr. Rogers was a boy and would see scary things in the news, his mother would say to him, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ With the devastation all around us and many still struggling, you don’t have to look far to find people showing up for one another. It’s true, our lively towns and the beautiful mountains we call home are struggling. However, mountain people have never been the type to waller in self pity. We have a deep connection to this place, to one another, and a can-do spirit. We will rise again amidst our losses because that’s what we do.

As we wake up the morning after the election, many in our community are afraid, and others feel joyous. But, I suspect most of us, regardless of our party affiliation, continue to feel uneasy and concerned. Let’s not let political division undermine the sense of community that we’ve fostered and witnessed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, and hold onto the sense of unity that we’ve built and support each other in being our best selves.

At MountainTrue I have been continually inspired by our staff and volunteers. Read below to learn how we’ve been out there …  helping. Because that’s what we do. In time, our communities will rebound, our rivers will be restored, and our forests will once again provide solitude and inspiration. 

We appreciate you for being a helper and joining our recovery efforts. Together we are MountainStrong.

Bob Wagner

Executive Director

Clean Waters Team

Public Safety Announcements

⚠️ Read our Volunteer Safety Guidelines blog – always wear your PPE when participating in a cleanup or if you know you’ll come in contact with mud/sediment leftover from Helene. 

⚠️ MountainTrue’s Riverkeepers and Clean Waters Team ask that you stay out of rivers and waterways at the moment. 

Riverkeepers from North Carolina and beyond gather in the MountainTrue Asheville office to help the French Broad Riverkeeper test well samples.

Well Water Testing Updates

💧The Watauga Riverkeeper continues to offer free well testing in partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services and Waterkeepers Carolina. With two well-testing stations set up in Trade, TN, and Boone, NC, our High Country/Watauga Riverkeeper Team has processed over 80 water samples since Helene hit. We’re seeing about an 18% failure rate and are referring folks to their local health department for further well/spring testing and disinfection. In addition to our well and spring testing, we have also been testing surface water along the Watauga, New, and Elk rivers. We have collected 30 river samples, and have been pleasantly surprised at the results with an average 30% failure rate based on the NC Department of Health and Human Services recreational E. coli standard (126 MPN/cfu). Looking ahead, water sampling for both wells and surface water will remain a priority in our High Country office. 

💧The French Broad Riverkeeper Team had six well-sampling sites last week and processed over 125 samples. We’re seeing about a 35% failure rate in samples and are referring folks to their local health departments to get their wells treated. We also took another 10 chemical samples looking at a wide variety of pollutants. We’re starting to get those results back and will analyze and communicate the results soon. Those samples will determine where we conduct future sampling. 

💧Who should test: If your well has been flooded or flood waters pooled around your well, then we recommend having your well tested for bacteria pollution. We don’t recommend testing every well and there aren’t resources to test every well, so we’re asking that only wells that were flooded during Helene be tested. Where to get a well-testing kit:

     ✔️ Johnson County, TN: Tennessee/NC State Line Resource Center (11878 US-421, Trade, TN) from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday – CLOSED Wednesday & Sunday. 

     ✔️Watauga County, NC: The Greenhouse (164 Depot Street Boone, NC 28607) to pick up supplies and check-in with our team on Monday or Thursday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Completely fill sample bottle with well water from your sink and return to us within 24 hours of collection time (ex. if you collect sampling supplies on a Thursday evening, wait until Sunday night to collect your water sample). Drop off your water sample and I.D. sheet back at the Greenhouse on Monday or Thursday between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Results will be communicated to you within 36 hours.

Precision Grading working to assess and remove debris in the Green River Cove with the Green Riverkeeper.

River Cleanups Update

🗑️ Last week, the French Broad Riverkeeper hosted another very successful river cleanup in Asheville’s River Arts District. Since the hurricane, our team has picked up over 1100 bags of trash and approximately 73,000 pounds of trash. In the coming weeks, we’ll be hosting additional river cleanups and water sampling days to start to identify sewer leaks and other pollution sources. 

🗑️ The Green Riverkeeper continues to manage cleanup efforts on the Lower Green with Precision Grading, removing cars, homes, RVs, trailers, and more from the river.

🗑️ MountainTrue’s French Broad, Green, and Watauga Riverkeepers will continue to host cleanups in the coming weeks; look for cleanup info + updates in these weekly emails and on our Instagram and Facebook accounts: MountainTrue Instagram, Facebook + Twitter, French Broad Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook, Green Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook, Watauga Riverkeeper Instagram + Facebook. 

🗑 Upcoming river cleanups: 

     ✔️ Watauga County, NC: 

          🔹11/7, Boone: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. w/ Blue Ridge Conservancy and the Middle Fork Greenway. Learn more + register.

          🔹11/9, Boone: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. @ Deer Valley Athletic Club. Learn more + register.

          🔹11/23, Boone: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. @ Winklers Creek. Learn more + register.

     ✔️ Buncombe County, NC:

          🔹11/8, Arden: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. @ Glen Bridge River Park. Learn more + register.

          🔹11/14, Asheville: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., volunteers will meet @ MountainTrue’s Asheville Office for further French Broad River Sampling Blitz. Learn more + register. 

          🔹11/21, Alexander: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. @ Whittier Branch. Learn more + register.

          🔹12/5, location TBD: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Learn more + register.

          🔹12/12, location TBD: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Learn more + register.

     ✔️ Marshall/Madison County, NC: 11/14 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. @ Redmon Dam River Access. Learn more + register.

Resilient Forests Team

Public Safety/Access Announcements

While the Appalachian and Grandfather Ranger Districts of Pisgah National Forest remain closed, most other units of public land in the area are open. On November 1, all of the mountain State Parks opened, as well as some of the trails in Dupont State Forest. 

Get Involved w/ Local Groups

Many groups in the area are hard at work helping to reopen our public lands and trails. Check out the following volunteer opportunities with these organizations:

🌲 Carolina Mountain Club: for ongoing (Monday-Saturday) volunteer opportunities to assist with trail work, email volunteer@carolinamountainclub.org. 

🌲 Pisgah Area SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association): to be alerted of future volunteer opportunities, fill out this form.

🌲 Northwest NC Mountain Bike Alliance: 

     🍂 11/16 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.: work with the Alliance and NC NICA Teams to clean up and repair damage at Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir in Wilkesboro, NC. Sign up here.

     🍂 11/30 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.: help the Alliance clean up and repair the Zack’s Fork Mountain Bike Trail in Lenoir, NC. Read more here.

🌲 Friends of Panthertown: 11/11 & 11/12 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: hike and help with trail maintenance in Panthertown Valley. Read more and sign up here.

🌲 Wild South: help with shifting hurricane relief and recovery efforts by filling out the contact form on this page with your daily availability. Read more here.

🌲 Friends of DuPont Forest: 11/12 from 8:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.: help clear debris and restore drainages along Shoal Creek Trail in DuPont State Forest. Read more and sign up here.

Healthy Communities Team

Design Volunteers Needed!

MountainTrue is excited to announce the launch of a community-driven design program aimed at helping rebuild areas in Western North Carolina that were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Currently, our Recovery and Resilience Design Teams are focused on providing assistance to the Swannanoa and Marshall communities. Ultimately, we hope to provide the critical design services to communities throughout Western North Carolina.

To make this initiative a success, we need volunteers from a variety of design disciplines, including:

     ✔️Architects

     ✔️Engineers (structural and civil)

     ✔️Landscape Architects

     ✔️Environmental Consultants

     ✔️Land Planners

     ✔️Surveyors

     ✔️Soil Scientists

Many communities are still in rescue and recovery mode, and they may not yet fully understand their design needs. Banking design hours now is crucial for meeting future commitments to these communities.

If you’re a designer interested in volunteering and ready to pledge some hours, or if your community needs design assistance, please reach out to our Director of Healthy Communities, Chris Joyell, at chris@mountaintrue.org. Together, we can make a meaningful impact in the recovery process.

Support an Eviction Moratorium and Boost Housing Aid for Helene Survivors

Join us in urging Governor Cooper to take immediate action to protect those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Many residents are facing eviction and displacement, and we need decisive action. By enacting an eviction moratorium and increasing housing funding, we can help vulnerable families stay in their homes and begin to rebuild. Take a moment to email the governor and ask for his support. Visit More Neighbors WNC’s action page to learn more and make your voice heard!

Henderson County, NC, Affordable Housing Listening Sessions

Henderson County residents: check out the rescheduled listening session dates here. 

Creation Care Alliance (CCA)

CCA volunteer Hannah Collins prepares to deliver donated supplies to communities in need.

CCA has partnered with Latinos Aventureros to support Spanish-speaking communities via resourcing congregational hubs and connecting our CCA volunteers. We’re also in the process of connecting families whose belongings were lost in the storm with much-needed larger resources donated by some awesome folks, such as a camper and car.