WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- One of the most frequently visited parks in North Carolina has improved a prized natural resource.
Grassy Creek, which flows through Pilot Mountain State Park, was severely eroded.
Ken White, vice chair of Resource Institute, a Winston-Salem based nonprofit that restores streams, rivers and wetlands, said they used sustainable river engineering technologies to improve natural stream stability.
He argued keeping streams healthy can help the park and local economy grow by attracting new visitors and keep dedicated patrons coming back.
"To go out and spend a day on the Blue Ridge Parkway and see the throngs of people that are out enjoying the trailheads," White urged. "It really makes you appreciate the fact that what we can do creates that opportunity for all of North Carolinians, or even visitors from other states, to come in here and get out and enjoy the great outdoors."
White added conservation work is especially important in places like Pilot Mountain, which rises 2,000 feet from the North Carolina Piedmont and historically functioned as a navigational landmark. Pilot Mountain State Park conserves almost 4,000 surrounding acres.
Grassy Creek empties into the Yadkin River, the second-largest river basin in the state.
White remarked keeping excess sediment out of the stream means cleaner water for the more than 1.5 million people who rely on the Yadkin for drinking water.
"What we're doing is helping every city, every municipality, every town that's got their straw in the Yadkin River basin," White contended. "They don't have to add additional chemicals to treat the water; their water intakes remain very viable and usable."
Jake Byers, senior water resources engineer for Ecosystem Planning and Restoration, said it's up to government officials and state leaders to support conservation funding for these types of improvements, especially as local budgets feel the strain of the coronavirus recession.
"This project was funded primarily through the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund," Byers explained. "It's an important source of funding for nonprofits, municipalities, different institutes, to get restoration work done in the state of North Carolina. And we should all be thankful that it exists."
He pointed out conservation work can save local governments money in the long run.
Stream restoration not only keeps sediment and debris out of local waterways that supply drinking water, but can also prevent storm runoffs and damage from flooding.
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A new report found four dams in the Columbia River Basin are big emitters of methane.
Research from the organization Tell The Dam Truth showed the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington emit the equivalent of 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Robin Everett, deputy western region field director for the Sierra Club, said it undercuts some of the claims the dams are helping provide the region with clean energy.
"It's really clear from this report that we have to take this a lot more seriously that there are some real impacts as far as emissions go from these dams," Everett asserted.
The reports showed the dams produce the equivalent emissions of burning 2 billion pounds of coal annually. Defenders of the dams counted they are important for barging and irrigation for the area's agricultural lands.
But Everett pointed out the dams have another effect on the region: they block the dwindling population of salmon and steelhead from traveling upstream on the Snake River. She noted it not only hurts fish populations but the tribes relying on them.
"We have an obligation for them to be able to fish and if there are no fish to fish, we have broken the treaties," Everett contended
Chinook salmon are also an important source of food for orca on the West Coast. Everett added protecting salmon is important for tribes and the region as a whole.
"Our moral obligation to the salmon and the orca that depend on them are met as well," Everett concluded.
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A proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric facility for Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County has been challenged by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The foundation filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is considering granting a preliminary permit to build a 1.8-mile-long dam for the project.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said they are working to stop the project in order to protect the unique Cuffs Run area and its ecological benefits for future generations.
"If approved, this project would destroy it about 580 acres of prime farmland, fields and forests, some of which have not been disturbed in about 100 years," Campbell pointed out. "Those farms, fields and forests exist harmoniously with and in support of a plethora of plant and animal life."
The foundation is circulating an online petition and encouraged Pennsylvanians to provide comments before Sunday.
The stream is home to naturally reproducing brook trout. Advocates worry the $2.5 billion project would also be harmful to the Susquehanna River. Campbell noted about 40 families would be displaced.
"For those who call Cuffs Run home, it's more than just a place to live. It's their heritage and they want it to be part of their legacy," Campbell asserted. "This project just simply is the wrong idea in the wrong place. In order to honor that heritage and that legacy, we need to preserve this area."
Campbell emphasized the Cuffs Run project is about 993 acres of land draining into a 2.5-mile unnamed tributary. He added in terms of stream habitat, the rocks, pebbles and woody material have been identified as among the best in the region for supporting critters living in the water.
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Tennesseans want more say in how the Tennessee Valley Authority plans for their future electricity needs and a bill now in Congress could give the public more influence.
The "TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act," would require a more open decision-making process for the utility.
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the TVA is currently developing its new Integrated Resource Plan to meet future energy demands. The bill would require more public participation in the plan's proceedings.
"Right now the stakeholders who get to provide input early on in the IRP process are all hand-selected by TVA," Knisley pointed out. "You can't choose to be in that IRP working group. And those are the only folks who get substantial input in the architecture of the IRP, as it's being designed."
The utility serves more than 10 million people across six states. The TVA said it is reviewing the legislation. A draft of the plan will be published at a later date. The TVA said it already has a "robust stakeholder engagement plan."
After the plan is released, Knisley noted public input happens during what's known as the scoping phase of the National Environmental Policy Act. Open houses are set up, where the TVA answers questions from the public. Knisley encouraged Tennesseans to raise any of their concerns during the public and virtual hearings.
"I think additional public input into our region's long-term energy plan is only going to strengthen outcomes," Knisley contended. "And make that long-term energy plan better meet the needs of the Tennessee Valley, as a whole."
She added it is important for Tennesseans to work with Congress on the best way to improve public input in the TVA decision-making process.
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