Nine months after Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southern Appalachians, contractors hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continue to rip through critical aquatic habitats in the name of storm debris removal. The most recent victim of this ongoing and unwarranted natural disaster, a .75-mile stretch of Little Rose Creek, located within the Pisgah Gamelands in Mitchell County. Originating up near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Little Rose is a known site for native Southern Appalachian ...

North Carolina House Bill 1012 provides 500 million dollars of funding to state agencies and grants to local governments for Hurricane Helene disaster recovery. While we applaud the additional funding for desperately needed relief to the mountain region of North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene last year, we have an issue in regards to Part III, Section 3.1(a) of the bill. This section requires local governments to use US Army Corp of Engineers (USACOE) contractors for waterway and ...

Protect the Nolichucky River: Stop CSX’s Destructive Construction Activities In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s devastating floods and landslides across Southern Appalachia, a Herculean effort is needed to restore vital infrastructure. However, we cannot let these recovery efforts come at the cost of our cherished public lands and waters. The Nolichucky River, a vital natural treasure flowing from Western North Carolina into Tennessee, has become the site of egregious environmental ...

As the population in North Carolina’s western mountains grows, so too does interest from private entities in laying claim to public water access. For decades, anglers have dealt increasing harassment from landowners that are ignorant of the public’s rights on public trust waters. The ability to recreate has always hinged on the question of navigability, and those rights include access to, and use of the streambed. If a waterway can be floated across by any means of conveyance, in North ...

I recently had the pleasure in attending the 2023 North Carolina Armed Forces Initiative Turkey Camp as a mentor.  There was a bit of trepidation on my part about being a mentor as I do not have a lot of experience hunting turkeys.  It was not something my family did growing up in Pennsylvania.  We were the standard white-tailed deer and small game hunters.  All told I have a total of four seasons worth of turkey hunting experience.    Adding to my trepidation is the fact that I have yet to ...