MountainTrue

Public Lands Our Public Lands program protects and restores the commons of the Southern Blue Ridge for sustainable public use. The new Forest Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest was adopted earlier this year. We will continue to fight for a better plan. -MountainTrue, as part of a coalition of conservation groups, submitted a Notice of Intent to Sue the Forest Service for violations of the Endangered Species Act related to four species of forest bats in the development of the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. -Staff have found success advocating for creating a Craggy Mountain National Scenic Area. After meeting with Congressman Edwards at Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, he pledged to introduce legislation to create this new Scenic Area. This area would encompass 16,000 acres of US Forest Service land in Buncombe County.

Water: French Broad Riverkeeper -We scored victories and encountered an obstacle on plastic pollution. The City of Asheville completed its outreach survey, which showed broad support for passing a plastic bag ban, and was due to take up an ordinance in October. The towns of Woodfin and Black Mountain passed resolutions asking Buncombe County to pass a countywide plastic bag ban. After significant pressure and advocacy, Buncombe County commissioners had expressed support for an ordinance. However, at the 11th hour, the NC Retail Merchants Association got party leaders to insert language into the budget that prevents local governments from regulating any auxiliary packaging, including single-use plastic grocery bags. Weve circled up with our grassroots advocates and coalition partners and are developing a new strategic campaign aimed at building support among local grocers and retailers for both the implementation of voluntary plastic reduction efforts and a statewide plastic bag ban. -We conducted another DNA water study. We completed another DNA water study, which shows the amount and sources of E. coli. The analysis has been critical in guiding our work by proving that cows are the primary source of E. coli pollution, followed by humans. -We successfully lobbied the NC General Assembly for $2 million for Agricultural Cost-share. Using our DNA study, we successfully lobbied for funding that provides farmers with financial assistance to implement best management practices to prevent cow pollution in our streams. -We established a septic system repair program that has been critical in repairing failing septic systems across our region - another significant source of bacteria pollution. -We continued to improve and expand the French Broad Paddle Trail to provide more and better opportunities for people to recreate and deepen their connections to the outdoors and foster more environmental advocates. We successfully lobbied the NC General Assembly for $150,000, which has allowed us to hire an additional staff member to manage the trail; develop a new logo, website, map, and signage; improve access points in Transylvania and Madison counties; and install new composting toilets, picnic tables, fire rings, and signage at MountainTrue managed paddle trail campsites. -We continued building a broader coalition of environmental advocates by engaging communities of color in more outdoor activities. Through a grant from Made X Mountains Outdoor Equity Fund, we led no-cost paddling trips on the French Broad River for communities of color. We have hosted four trips focused on paddling instruction, river safety, and making the connection between a love of nature and environmental conservation. We plan to host another 3-4 trips in 2024, culminating in an overnight trip on the French Broad Paddle Trail. Water: Green Riverkeeper -We held river cleanups on the Green River, removing tires, plastics, metal scraps, and other trash. These volunteer events help educate our volunteers about our plastic advocacy work. -We treated 38 hemlock trees in the Green River Gorge in partnership with Hemlock Restoration Initiative to protect against the woolly adelgid invasive species. -We conducted monthly water sampling and seasonal biomonitoring with volunteers. We continue to partner with EQI (Environmental Quality Institute) to analyze sample data - critical information that informs our State of Our Rivers report and advocacy efforts at the NC General Assembly and with local governments. -Monitored and informed the public of an 8,000-gallon oil spill into Cove Creek and worked with NC DEQ to communicate the remediation efforts. Water: Broad Riverkeeper -We are advising Cleveland County Water Manager as they design three new paddle access points on the First Broad River. After withdrawing its application for a permit to build a reservoir by damming the First Broad River, Cleveland County Water is now focused on developing an extensive greenway/blueway park system, the Stagecoach Greenway. -Our Broad Riverkeeper, David Caldwell, was appointed to the Cleveland County Planning Board, where he will work with the county to ensure that zoning and ordinances help fulfill the priorities in the Countys 10-Year Land Use Plan. -We are partnering with the Southern Environmental Law Center to reclassify the Broad River as a primary recreation water and submitting a petition to compel NCDEQ to consider technology-based effluent limits when issuing discharge permits. -After more than five years of applying pressure, Befesa Zinc Corp. is finally meeting the limits of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. MountainTrue and Southern Environmental Law Center have reviewed Befesas permit renewal application and submitted comments and concerns to state regulators. Water: Watauga Riverkeeper We won the reclassification of 11 streams in the Watauga River Basin as Outstanding Resource Waters or High-Quality Waters. This victory took years of advocacy. The new classifications will restrict future permitted waste discharge. -We secured funding for the removal of Shulls Mill Dam. MountainTrue has been working closely with Wildlands Engineering and American Rivers to have the project shovel ready by 2024. -We are conducting Eastern Hellbender surveys as part of our pre-dam removal efforts. This work also supports ongoing advocacy efforts to list the hellbender for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. We continued researching the Wards Mill Dam removal project on the Watauga River. Ongoing research continues to show that the Wards Mill dam removal has significantly improved water quality and the health of the aquatic habitat. -We spearheaded the writing, data analysis, and editing of the 2023 MountainTrue State of Our Rivers Report. This report summarizes the water quality of our rivers and streams across all our regional offices at httpsstateofourriversreportexecut... - We expanded our Waterkeeper jurisdiction to include the North Carolina sections of the New River and the Watauga River in North Carolina and Tennessee. -We planted more than 20,000 livestakes. These livestakes will grow into trees and shrubs that prevent sediment runoff into local waterways. Planting sites the Wards Mill Dam Removal site. -We led the High Country Habitat Restoration Coalition, a multi-agency stakeholder group dedicated to removing non-native invasive plant species and restoring habitat across the High Country Region. Western Region -We participated in scoping for a 25.2-mile TVA Transmission Line and Switching Station project across Nantahala National Forest in southwestern NC. We supported residents in advocating for an in-person public meeting, which happened on September 12. -We expanded our Swim Guide and volunteer microplastics water quality monitoring programs into the Little Tennessee River Basin in Swain and Macon counties. E. coli samples were collected, analyzed, and reported weekly at 20 locations in our Western Region this summer, including seven new locations. -We continued to tackle the problem of domesticated populations of Canada goose around our lakes and rivers. A new Swim Guide site at a boat ramp in Murphy failed every E. coli test due to geese and domestic ducks. We worked with the Town of Murphy to install signage and educate people about not feeding the waterfowl. Geese also returned to the Clay County Swim Beach on Lake Chatuge in early August, causing elevated levels of E. coli. -We completed an inventory of nonnative invasive plants along the 2.3-mile Jackson Co. Greenway and hosted three volunteer workdays in partnership with Jackson Co. Parks & Rec, WCU professors, and Mainspring Conservation Trust. These events engaged more than 40 new volunteers in our work! -We helped launch the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail at 10 locations across WNC in partnership with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and others. The Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail is a series of curated snorkel sites along mountain rivers. Clean Energy We are tracking the growth of cryptomining data centers, which use immense amounts of electricity and provide few jobs or other economic benefits for our communities. We are working with county commissioners in Buncombe, Cherokee, and Madison counties and the Town of Boone to pass high-impact land-use ordinances that would give them the power to keep these operations out of their communities. This work led to Cherokee County Commissioners adopting their first comprehensive plan on September 18, 2023. -We advocated in two rate hearings before the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC). MountainTrue provided testimony and activated our membership base to influence energy rate setting in two cases before the NCUC, one involving Duke Energy Carolinas and one involving Duke Energy Progress. Both utilities operate in Western NC. We advocated for more investments in renewable energy, efficiency, and employing performance-based ratemaking to

-We hosted our annual Bioblitz in the Craggy Mountains. Twenty experts lead the more than 75 participants in a bioblitz in an area of the forest that we are working to have designated as a National Scenic Area. Participants took 1486 photographic observations and identified 621 species. -We re-treated 117 ash trees at Bluff Mountain. We have treated more than 1,200 ash trees against the scourge of the Emerald Ash Borer beetle, and we are committed to the survival of these trees. Water Our water team protects the French Broad, Watauga, New, Green, Broad, Little Tennessee, Savannah, and Hiwassee River basins by tracking and reporting sewer leaks, straight pipes, pollution sources, and negative impacts from agriculture and development.