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French Broad Riverkeeper - Anna Alsobrook

@fbriverkeeper

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Program of @mtntrue
Member of @waterkeeperalliance
Working for a clean, safe, accessible, and scenic French Broad River.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

💥🧨•SUCKERS: Salmon of the South•🌊🐟
Volunteer TOMORROW from 11-1 at the Redmon Dam (2753 Redmon Rd. Marshall) and see FIRSTHAND how our aging infrastructure is doing FAR more harm to our rivers health than we tend to be aware of! Wear clothes that can get wet! Learn your native fish! 🩵💙💜

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Fall in WNC

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Asheville protectors of our water, health, and MONEY will hold a press conference this Friday, joining the call for a statewide data center moratorium AND warn against the tax amendments on your ballot. Our state needs this pause to protect our communities and lower our electric bills... and to ensure humans stay in charge in healthcare, not AI.
Learn more about the tax amendments that could gut local funds for healthcare, emergency services water infrastructure and send local governments on a quest to recoup those funds by approving big industrial projects like data centers. @progressivereform, @nationalnurses, @ncbudgetandtax, and @fbriverkeeper

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For the first time since they began their river debris removal crews in summer 2025, we brought all 10 teams back together & broke them up into new crews for a FIELD DAY 👏 to refresh their skills & training.

Each (new) crew was challenged to use the resources they had in front of them -- at a variety of different stations -- while communicating & using teamwork, and keeping safety as the #1 goal.

This day was all about cultivating a space for members of different crews to come together and learn from one another, share ideas & brainstorm together, problem-solve challenges & vent to one another.

A space for them to gather & share stories about their experiences working in different rivers & counties across WNC, a chance to laugh & hug & share tears & empathy & a meal with one another.

It was about being ALL TOGETHER AGAIN -- in river crew community.

With our WNC land & waters still at varying stages of recovery (county by county) post-Helene, our land is so much more vulnerable to sliding & shifting, our rivers more likely to stretch & surge (as we saw this past weekend across WNC with Isaias).

It is critical that these crews -- who are out in the field full-time on shifting banks & unsettled riverbeds -- stay up to date on training and proper safety protocols.

Helene taught us that when the land slides & the rivers rise -- safety, resources/preparedness, communication & community are all key 🔑

We are stronger, wiser, and more resilient when we all work together... never forget that, WNC 💙

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🚨 Take Action to protect the Clean Water Act & our waterways 🚨

The Clean Water Act is under threat—and here in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains, that could have major consequences for the rivers, streams, wetlands, and communities we call home.

On September 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers released a supplemental proposal that would dramatically narrow which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Under the proposal, many streams and tributaries would lose federal protection if they do not have water flowing continuously throughout the entire year. Wetlands could also lose protection unless they meet extremely narrow requirements for their connection to other protected waters.

We need your voice right now. The comment deadline is this Friday, October 9. Tell EPA and the Army Corps: Keep our waters protected. Click the link in our bio to take action, or visit mountaintrue.org 📝

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🧨💥•DAM SLAM! •💧🐟
Over 35 fish species are missing from the Upper French Broad because of dams! MEET UP: SATURDAY Oct. 17th by the Craven St. Bridge at 11am! KID friendly! Bring your kids in construction outfits (yellow shirt) and they can be in THE PLAY!! One of the oldest rivers in the world was filled with living dinosaurs and we want to LET THEM COME HOME!!! 🌊🐳🐬🐠💎💜

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🩵🌳•DAM REMOVAL NOW•🧨
The greatest opportunity for habitat connectivity in the region is dam removal on the French Broad. All 3 dams. Craggy Dam, Capitola Dam, and Redmond Dam. The Sturgeon wants to come home! 🧨🔥
#damremoval #frenchbroad

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Due to drought conditions pre-Helene, Fontana Lake was 7 ft below its normal level, but then during Helene, rose 15 ft and scattered debris from houseboats all along and throughout the coves.

Despite some mechanical issues, we were able to utilize two motorized boats, plus one debris barge and our AVL & Swannanoa Crews (under the leadership of our Clean Waters Director Hartwell Carson) to remove the debris from the coves.

We filled 4 large dumpsters with debris over 2 days.

Great work crews!

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🎨🌳•Protect the Roadless Rule•🌳🎨
Write a public comment today (link in my story) North Carolina has 38 areas that would be opened up to commercial logging and new road building! FREE RIVER SNORKLING TRIP at the @blueridgesnorkeltrail this Sunday from 11:30-4 if you write a public comment!

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✨️ Spotlight: North Buncombe River Debris Removal Crew ✨️

This hard-working crew recently removed roughly 6k lbs of storm debris & approximately 4k lbs of recyclable metal from a 1/2 mile stretch of the Ivy River 👏

Their last (and biggest) task at the site was an industrial-sized chest freezer embedded deep in the riverbank.

With the crew's combined background of whitewater guiding, climbing guiding, technical SAR and strong communication skills, they used a combination of a comealong, z-drags and the winch of a UTV to carefully extract the chest without further damaging the riverbank.

Once they had successfully removed the chest, the crew worked together to rebuild the slope of the bank with rocks and dirt - held in place by burlap cloth & bamboo stakes - to create a more stable slope. This will keep the soil in place & give vegetation a chance to regrow.

While working on this stretch of the Ivy River, the surrounding neighborhood was so supportive of the crew ❤️ and offered safe river access, fresh water from their wells to keep the crew hydrated on extra hot days and ALL the friendly dogs to pet 🐶 🐕

Thanks, River Heroes 🤩

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Out here on the lower Nolichucky scouting debris and access for our next suite of cleanups. Absolutely beautiful River with some cleanup work to be done. Such incredible habitat and probably peak osprey, kingfisher, wildlife sightings. We are grateful for your support of these amazing cleanup crews.

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✨️ FREE PVC PIPE ✨️

Are you a farmer in need of some PVC pipe for a project? Or, perhaps an artist wanting to get creative & incorporate PVC pipe into a Helene sculpture of sorts? A theater company looking to do an interesting set design? Well, look no further...

MountainTrue's French Broad River debris crews have been making a stockpile of PVC pipe pulled out of the river post-Helene, in hopes that some of the less flood-funky & still intact pieces might be reused and repurposed by our communities.

Every piece of PVC we are able to give away to our neighbors for free, is one less piece of PVC that ends up in our local landfill 🙌

Schedule a free PVC pick-up today!
➡️ Email: cleanuprestoration@mountaintrue.org to schedule your pickup date & time 📅

*Pickup location is in Weaverville, NC. Exact location will be given via e-mail once pick-up appointment has been scheduled*

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