Vivus Viridis

10/26/2026

If you're a landowner that has a seasonal creek on your farm / property, a low-lying field that holds water after rain, or a wetland that doesn’t connect directly to a larger waterway, the federal rules about who protects that land have changed significantly in the last decade, and they may be about to change again.

A proposal from the EPA and the Army Corps (public comment closed on 10/9) may limit federal Clean Water Act protection largely to waters that flow year-round. Seasonal streams and most wetlands without a direct, unbroken surface connection to a larger protected water body would likely fall outside federal jurisdiction under the strictest version of the proposal.

For some landowners, that sounds like less red tape. For others, it raises a different question: if the federal government is no longer the backstop for what happens to the water on and around your land, who is?

The answer depends on your state, and it isn’t always clear.

If you’ve been thinking about your land’s future, how to earn an income from it, or how to protect it for future generations in spite of urban sprawl, we have real win-win-win solutions.

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[Photo: thanks to Tyler Butler on Unsplash]

10/19/2026

When Hurricane Isaias moved through western North Carolina last week, overwhelmed sewer infrastructure in Morganton sent roughly 840,000 gallons of sewage into Hunting Creek.

Hunting Creek is already listed as an impaired waterway by the state of North Carolina. A city-commissioned watershed study documented poor aquatic habitat, f***l coliform above safe levels at every sampled site, and significant bank erosion.

So, the storm hit a watershed that was already struggling.

Healthy stream systems (like stable banks, functioning riparian corridors) don’t stop nature from bringing a storm. But a healthy stream system DOES change what the watershed does with it. That’s the difference restoration makes: not eliminating risk, but building resilience into the landscape so it can stand the test of a storm.

📍 vivusviridis.com

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As a landowner, you own more than just property; you're a caretaker of a living ecosystem with the power to shape its future.

09/29/2026

The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) debate has been loud. And honestly, some of the loudest arguments--on both sides--missed the point. (In our humble opinion, anyway.)

The Clean Water Act has always protected routine farming from federal permitting requirements. That part hasn't changed. What kept changing was the definition of which waters fall under federal protection in the first place, and that made planning genuinely hard for anyone with a seasonal stream, a drainage ditch, or a low-lying field on their land.

Farmers who worried because of the uncertainty weren't making it up. But what got lost in the debate is this: those same wetlands and small streams at the center of the WOTUS fight filter runoff, feed groundwater, and help keep water clean for farms and communities downstream. Narrowing their protection has real consequences for everyone.

The problem was never really "regulation vs. farmers." It was years of rules that changed faster than anyone could plan around, used as a political battleground.

A conservation easement does something no federal rule can: it settles what your land will be, permanently, on your terms. Whatever the next administration decides about water policy, that decision can be in your hands! Talk to us, reach out.

📍 vivusviridis.com

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As a landowner, you own more than just property; you're a caretaker of a living ecosystem with the power to shape its future.

09/23/2026

It's been interesting to dig in to the so-called "politics" of clean water here in the United States and explore what the various administrations have done to protect nature's generous gift to us. 🫗💦☔️🌊

In a previous post we looked at the administrations from Nixon to Clinton. In this post we look at what the administrations from Obama to Trump have / are doing.

If you have a thought, we'd love to hear it. Or a question!

09/15/2026

Clean water shouldn't be a political thing. But man oh man, it sure feels like that right now.

Back in October 2025, the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule would have removed federal protection from 81% of mapped U.S. wetlands. The latest rule, now in September, wants to remove federal protection from the majority of mapped U.S. wetlands.

This means the burden then falls on each state to protect the water you drink and bathe in, the water that runs like an artery through the landscape.

Maybe it was time clean water became everyone's concern...

Source: EPA/USACE Regulatory Impact Analysis, 2025 · New York Times, September 2026 · Photo thanks to Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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09/11/2026

Hey everyone, check out this river that we restored! 😆

Just kidding...of course. This is the fabulous and beautiful Nantahala River, and this is the amazing Nantahala Outdoor Center

The streams and creeks we restore at V2 are much smaller than this majestic beauty, but it did get me thinking:

1. Every acre in NC has, at some point, been cleared, which means that every stream and creek, at some point, has been modified by humankind. Sadly, many are now unhealthy.
2. Every stream and creek flows to either a lake, a river, or the ocean. And, I'm sure we can all agree that lakes, rivers, and our oceans are valuable.

And so, by restoring the smaller streams, we're improving the health of the lakes, the rivers, and the ocean. Wow. Talk about remembering the ! 😀

09/01/2026

Something worth knowing if you're thinking about a conservation easement on your land:

Federal rules about which wetlands and streams are protected have changed six times since 2015. This is not a “red” or a “blue” issue. The current proposed rule, called the WOTUS (Waters of the United States) rule, would remove federal Clean Water Act protection from the majority of wetlands in the country. Depending on where you live, the wet areas on your farm may or may not have federal protection at any given time, depending on who's in office and what definition the EPA is currently using.

A conservation easement through V2 doesn't work that way.

When we place a conservation easement on a piece of land, it protects that land permanently. That protection doesn't change with a new administration. It doesn't expire. It doesn't depend on whether a federal agency considers your stream to be "jurisdictional" under the current definition of the week.

The restored creek stays restored. The wetland stays protected. The easement stays on the deed.

Adam McIntyre, V2's founder, puts it directly: "The principle is to correct and restore what we've degraded over the last 100 years. Federal protection can shift with every new administration. Conservation easements take that decision out of the political cycle entirely. And remember folks, this isn’t a political red vs blue issue, it’s a human issue. We all should want to support the protection and restoration of these critical systems for our present and future!"

If you're a landowner with a wet section of property (a stream bank, a drained wetland, a soggy field that never quite worked for crops) the question of federal jurisdiction matters less than the question of what you want to happen to that land. A conservation easement answers that question and pays you for it, regardless of what Washington does next.

[Sources: Environmental Protection Network · EPA/USACE Regulatory Impact Analysis, Proposed 2025 WOTUS Rule · K&L Gates legal analysis (December 2025)]

08/28/2026

If you farm in the southeast of the US, you already know what a wet year looks like:

** February 2025: powerful storms moved across Tennessee and brought destructive flash flooding to communities across the state. A levee failed in Rives. More than 1,000 people had to be rescued.
** April 2025: Governor Lee declared a state of emergency after an unprecedented period of severe weather and prolific rainfall swept West and Middle Tennessee.
** June 2025, Interstate 40 near the Tennessee–North Carolina state line was closed again due to flash flooding and a landslide, just months after it had been shut down for four months following Hurricane Helene. Full restoration of that stretch of highway isn't expected before 2028, assuming we don’t have another major storm in this region.

Here's something that doesn't make the news but should: a significant part of why flooding has gotten worse is that the natural systems that slow water down have been removed. Wetlands act like a sponge: they take in runoff during a heavy rain event and release it slowly, reducing the peak flow that causes the kind of flash flooding we're seeing. Healthy stream banks hold their shape. Riparian vegetation slows the water's movement across the land.

When wetlands are drained, streams are straightened, and floodplains are filled the water has nowhere to go except downstream, fast.

Wetlands cover less than 6% of U.S. land. Yet they support at least one third of all threatened and endangered species in the country, filter water before it reaches wells and rivers, and recharge the groundwater aquifers that farms depend on.

So, when a wetland filters water before it reaches a river, that's work a water treatment plant would otherwise have to do. When wetlands and floodplains absorb a flood, that's natural infrastructure an engineered ‘solution’ would otherwise have to provide. The global value of what wetlands do for free has been estimated at $47 trillion a year. That's not a market price; it's what we'd have to pay if nature stopped doing it.

The land many landowners think of as a nuisance, the wet corner, the soggy field, the stream that floods every spring, is actually the land that's been doing the most work. And it is the land that we need to protect, restore, and be grateful for!

[Sources: Tennessee Emergency Management Agency · NASA Earth Observatory · Center for Disaster Philanthropy · WATE Knoxville · U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service · EPA]

08/12/2026

🐸 Hey everyone, meet the upland chorus frog, a tiny little guy that can fit on your thumb!

If you've ever been walking a fence line on a chilly February morning and heard something that sounded like a comb being dragged across its teeth, that was probably this little frog.

The upland chorus frog is one of the earliest callers of the year, starting up in winter and running through early spring. They're small, easy to miss, and remarkably tolerant of the kind of land most farmers work every day, from roadside ditches and flooded fields to temporary wet spots after a heavy rain. They don't need a pristine wilderness. They need a wet place and a little time.

Color varies quite a bit from one individual to the next; greenish gray to reddish brown, usually with three stripes or rows of blotches running down the back and a white line along the upper lip. Most common in the Piedmont, but found across the Coastal Plain and into the Mountains as well.

Here's what's worth knowing if you manage land: finding upland chorus frogs on your property is a sign that your wet areas are functioning. They breed in the temporary wetlands and flooded fields that most people consider a nuisance. Restore that hydrology, and they show up.

They were here long before the ditch was. They'll be here long after, if we give them the chance.

[Spotted in the field by David.]

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08/05/2026

Hey everyone, it's Adam, founder of V2.

I recently spoke at the Solar Farm Summit in Georgia (managed by Katie Meyer), and I was so impressed with the speakers and the depth of the topics they cover. My good friend and colleague, Dan French (ala agrivoltaic entrepreneur), is, in my opinion, one of the nation's most intelligent and successful environmental entrepreneurs. The impact this organization is having on bringing awareness and interest to the value of solar farming is significant, along with their impact of protecting and finding ingenious ways to steward our planet!

If land stewardship is something you're interested in, reach out to us because we know people in the community!



Photo by Raphael Cruz on Unsplash