MountainTrue

10/07/2026

🚨 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.

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

10/06/2026

Our Neighbors for More Neighbors WNC team was excited to take over the MountainTrue Asheville office on September 23 & 24 to host the Southeast Regional Gathering for fellow members of the Welcoming Neighbors Network! We had pro-housing organizers here from Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and the Triangle area of North Carolina, all sharing best practices and lessons learned on campaigns removing barriers to middle housing development across the region. Highlights included an incredible e-bike tour led by the owner of The Flying Bike, Torin Kexel, and a panel discussion focused on the local response to the housing crisis here in Asheville, featuring Sekou Coleman of the Legacy Neighborhoods Coalition, Geoffrey Barton of Mountain Housing Opportunities, Inc., and Ben Woody from Asheville City Government, moderated by our own Susan Bean.

We were proud to celebrate recent campaign successes with this group, including legalizing duplexes citywide in Asheville and eliminating parking requirements almost statewide!

📷 Image credit: Welcoming Neighbors Network

09/29/2026

A Helene Miracle!

After an emotionally heavy weekend of Helene remembrance, we’re excited to have a happy “Helene Recovery” achievement to share!

Last week, thanks to funding from the Red Cross, we were able to remove yet another vehicle from a Helene-affected waterway. After receiving an alert about a vehicle that was found in the Nolichucky River in Washington County (Tennessee), Clean Waters Director Hartwell Carson went out to scout the area, pin the location of the vehicle, & look for potential river access points for the vehicle extraction.

After obtaining access through a riverside property owner, Hartwell enlisted our debris removal Jet Boat Captain Matt Cook to join in on the project. Using one canoe and one jet boat, Hartwell and Matt – with assistance from Madison Country crew leader Jemima – were able to paddle/motor over to the (mostly) submerged vehicle and rig a chain on it.

Using a combination of chains, cables, and ropes, the tow truck was able to effectively pull the vehicle across & out of the river. Once it was successfully out of the water and on to the riverbank, the tow truck driver loaded it up onto a rollback to be hauled away for good. The whole operation took only about two hours to complete – a miracle in and of itself. The real miracle behind this milestone, however, was the way every element aligned just so – to make the extraction as easy as possible.

According to Matt, “The crazy part is that the flat area we were working on, where the tow truck was staged and positioned for the extraction… that whole flat area used to be river. Prior to Helene, that property didn’t really have good river access; it was a steep bank with tons of trees. Somehow the storm changed the river & the rapid upstream of the property, & deposited a bunch of sand, dirt, & rocks which basically gave him a 25-30 yard wide flat space next to the river that just wasn’t there before. It’s kind of wild.
It’s weird that the river changed so much there, but we would not have gotten that car out as easily as we did if the river hadn't eroded and changed and shifted its path, and shifted where the earth was. It’s hard to believe how perfect everything lined up."

09/24/2026

You may have seen the good news. Thanks to your support, we have turned the corner in our relationship with IPEX. MountainTrue is thrilled to announce that the multinational corporation has signed an agreement to contribute to our ongoing efforts to remove its product from the French Broad River.

IPEX has agreed to commit $500,000 to MountainTrue’s cleanup efforts on the French Broad River between Woodfin and Lake Douglas in Tennessee and engage with MountainTrue and the Town of Woodfin to complete upgrades to their riverside facility in order to better secure pipe ahead of future storms.

This is a significant victory, won in part by the dedicated tenacity of the river community, led by French Broad Riverkeeper Anna Alsobrook. You came together at three community meetings in Woodfin, Marshall and Hot Springs to show support for our mission and wrote hundreds of letters to IPEX leadership, asking them to engage with our cleanup efforts. It worked.
IPEX listened. That’s worth celebrating. Thank you.

“We are hopeful that this new relationship will be a long one committed to protecting the river and its floodplain, and look forward to seeing the results of IPEX’s engineering study for how they will better secure their inventory before the next flood arrives," says MountainTrue deputy director and general counsel Gray Jernigan.

“This is a win not only for MountainTrue, but the whole French Broad River community. Our supporters stepped up to speak on behalf of the river, and it led to real, tangible results. Sometimes, we have to speak loudly for the rivers, forests and communities we share, and this victory shows the importance of that work. The work doesn’t end here, but this is a huge step forward together.”

09/18/2026

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!

09/15/2026

The Swannanoa River and MountainTrue send out a huge thank you to volunteers from the American Institute of Architects who joined us for a cleanup on Sunday! Together we removed over 800 pounds of debris in just a couple of hours - many hands make light work! Thank you to AIA North Carolina for orchestrating the day! 🙌

09/14/2026

09/13/2026

Yesterday we celebrated ONE FULL YEAR of cleaning up Helene debris from waterways in Hickory Nut Gorge, but specifically - in the Rocky Broad River that flows between the Main Street in Chimney Rock Village and Southside Drive.

We were joined by some of our friends at Chimney Rock State Park who helped us out by using their ATV to cart debris from riverside to our dump trailer stationed above the banks. Always a pleasure working with these gentlemen!

With the help of 20-30 volunteers, we were able to fill an entire dump trailer with debris in 3 hours! We dug up everything from electrical cords & outlets to siding & shingles, pieces of bridges & guardrail, and other scraggly metal materials.

We're always amazed at how much debris we continue to pull out each month, proving that we still have much to do in the recovery process post-Helene.

Post clean-up, we enjoyed a delicious meal & cold beverages together at one of our favorite local village eateries. Huge thanks to Riverwatch Bar & Grill for hosting our large volunteer group & giving us premium riverfront views so we could soak in our accomplishments 🙌

Next HNG cleanup will be in BAT CAVE - Stay tuned for details!

09/09/2026

Join us next Wednesday, September 16, and speak up in support of the Roadless Rule!