 From the exec's desk Dear RiverLovers, July is somewhat of a blur. Between the heat, getting ready for RiverFest and the Anything that Floats Parade, buying a new riverfront property and tire store and being gifted riverfront land from the Michel family, not to mention all the time we have been spending on the transformation of the iconic Richmond Hill Inn into OM Sanctuary - it is a blur of wonderful progress on the French Broad and some more giant steps forward for the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan. Someone told me that I was the only person they knew who got excited talking about contaminated land. That is true. It's not because I like dirty dirt. It is because I love cleaning dirty dirt up, in place -- without moving it -- and forever! That is what we are doing at the old EDACO junkyard on Amboy Road and what we will do at the base of the Pearson Bridge, which is where the old City of Asheville landfill is and our two new riverfront properties are located. RiverLink is working with Dr. Ari Ferro, an expert in phytoremediation, to develop and document processes that will clean contaminated soil from old junkyards and petroleum as well as contaminated soil from old landfills. His process can even be used to clean up water! Now this is what I call exciting. We have a great newsletter this month - so please take a few minutes to see what exotic invasive we have declared war on this month, and be sure to take our water awareness "water is my life" survey. Plus call us to be one of the very first WaterRICH participants! See you at RiverFest, August 13 at French Broad River Park. River Love, Karen P.S. We are very excited and gearing up now for our conference with the River Management Society in April, 2012. Call me or email me if you want to help with the conference. |
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It's time to get your RiverFest
rafts ready to race
Entries are coming in for the RiverFest 2011 "Anything that Floats Parade" at French Broad River Park on Saturday, August 13 from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. and proudly sponsored by Prestige Subaru and Southeastern Sports Medicine. So far, registered teams include The Blackbeard Buddies,Happy Holidaze and non-profits like The French Broad Fall Fest.
We expect about 50 more, and it's not too early to register your team. Gather your co-workers, family, friends, etc., get out the glue guns and duct tape, and be creative in crafting your floating work of art. 
Winners are declared in categories including most creative, best use of recycled materials, ugliest, best theme, funniest, and people's choice. A prize for the overall best float will determined by our panel of judges. Put-in is at Hominy Creek Park; takeout is at the festival.
The registration form is available by clicking here. The only rules are that the vessels must float and be powered by wind, muscle, sun or other non-motorized activity and removed from the festival grounds upon completion of the race. The deadline for registering "yachts" for the "Anything That Floats Parade" is Wednesday, August 10. There is no better way to advertise your cause and your creativity and have so much fun in the sun!
One of Riverfest's best features is live music by the French Broad River. Headlining this year's event is the Josh Philips Folk Festival, but local bands can get in on the act as well. A local battle-of-the-bands style contest, the RiverFest Music Showcase, will feature three local favorites as voted on by listeners of 98.1 The River. The crowd favorite wins $500 worth of gear from Musician's Workshop and recording time with Whitewater Recording. Visit www.981theriver.com/ for more information on submitting and voting. Check out the Josh Phillips Folk Festival by clicking here.
In addition to a great musical lineup, RiverFest offers local beer from  Craggie Brewing, food from Luella's BBQ, Jason's Deli, Blue Daisy Café and Brioso Fresh Pasta. Asheville favorite Ultimate Ice Cream providing cool dessert treats.
Asheville Aerial Arts will perform their gravity-defying stunts and local hula-hoopist extraordinaire MelMac Pink will return to dazzle the crowd between musical acts.
RiverFest offers lots of fun for kids, too, with face-painters, art supplies, and animals from the Western North Carolina Nature Center to touch and learn about. Kids can also ride, skate, walk, run, and skip in costume in the Kids Parade.
Proceeds from RiverFest benefit RiverLink. RiverFest is sponsored by Prestige Subaru and Southeastern Sports Medicine.
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Eagles Nest Outfitter SingleNest Hammock
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Get your tickets today for the "Love the French Broad Raffle"
RiverLink launches its annual "Love the French Broad Raffle," with the first drawing on Saturday, August 13 at the RiverFest celebration at French Broad River Park.
The "Love the French Broad River Raffle" is an opportunity to win outdoor gear and prizes while helping the local non-profit achieve its mission to revitalize the French Broad River and watershed as a place to live, work and play.
Sponsored by Asheville Adventure Guide, the raffle offers six chances to win, as tickets remain in the pot until the grand prize drawing . Following the August 13 drawing, there will be additional drawings September 1, October 1, November 1, March 1, 2012, culminating with the grand prize drawing on April 1, 2012.
The August 2011 prize package includes prizes such as an ENO hammock, women's underwear and a man's shirt from Ex Officio, two Moody Cove Tours from Navitat, a Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway book, two day passes to Chimney Rock Park, and more!
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What do you love and know
about your water source?
In the current world of budget cuts, heat waves, and increasing population we humans find time to enjoy the beauty in life ... thank goodness. We are driven to seek that which is rewarding and brings us great joy. It is in our nature to be resourceful and it is the natural world around us that offers the resources. Water, one of the key elements of life, is a pertinent ingredient for everything from microchips, macaroni, magazines, minibuses, mandarin oranges, massage oil, to Mona Lisa's smile. Try to think of something that you love and see if there is a way to disconnect it from water. Good Luck!
RiverLink wants to know what you think about water and what you know about the water that supports your household. You are invited to participate in this 7 question survey by clicking here.
Thank you.
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WaterRICH
WaterRecycling, Infiltration, and Conservation for the Home
Thanks to a grant from the Pigeon River Fund, RiverLink is developing a rainwater management handbook for homeowners. RiverLink is calling this program WaterRICH, to assist homeowners in understanding rainwater management and conserve, recycle and infiltrate water right in their own yards.
We are looking for 75 homeowners to help us kick start the program. RiverLink will provide resources designed specifically for smaller sites and private individuals. Along with developing an online guidebook, RiverLink is developing a certification program available for homeowners. We will assist the first 75 people who sign up through the process either with training or review, and/or as funds are available, assist homeowners to implement stormwater features at their homes with some help from our over 600 volunteers. Ultimately we would like WaterRICH to evolve into something similar to the healthy built home certification program. We will be also be working with the Realtors, green builders and associated groups to identify and certify a minimum of 75 homes in the first year of the program and help spread the word about this new program.
Would you like to be one of the first in your neighborhood to be WaterRICH certified? Call RiverLink's Watershed Resources Manager, Nancy Hodges. She is a Registered Landscape Architect who can be reached at 252-8474, ext. 14 or by email at nancy@riverlink.org or come to our August 25th meeting at RiverLink at 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Currently there are over 110,000 residential properties within the 656 square miles Buncombe County and 11,000 residential properties in the 450 square miles of Madison County (US Census Bureau, 2009). We have investigated the resources available to small lot owners and homeowners and determined that most owners and residents do not have an easily accessible comprehensive resource for understanding how to capture stormwater, improve water quality, and follow local regulations; nor do most homeowners have the site analysis and design tools needed to determine useful water quality and infiltration mechanisms. Just imagine the impact throughout the watershed if we empower the homeowner in neighborhoods everywhere to understand and utilize these tools that are readily available to developers and larger projects and improve the water quality.
RiverLink will be kicking off the program with a presentation at our offices at 170 Lyman Street at 11:30 a.m. and 5p.m. on Thursday, August 25. Come join us to learn about the WaterRICH program and what it can do for you. We are also soliciting homeowners who would like to be a part of the program. Signing up for the program will give you preferred access to specific WaterRICH trainings and an hour of individual consulting for free!
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More invasives control classes possible
On Thursday, July 18, RiverLink volunteer and author of the RiverLink weed guide, Corinne M. Duncan, held two classes on invasive plant control at RiverLink headquarters. The classes received good attendance and inspired lively discussion.
 | | Japanese honeysuckle. Yuck! |
Ten different invasive plants were presented and various control methods were compared for each. Attendees shared their invasive control challenges and success stories, and also gave great suggestions for further improvement to RiverLink's new weed guide.
If interest is high enough, RiverLink would be happy to hold another session. Let us know your interest by contacting RiverLink (info@riverlink.org; 828-252-8474, ext 10).
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Master Stream Steward Course, but we didn't know times and dates ... now we do!
This 6-class series is modeled after the popular Master Gardener classes, but aimed at the aquatically inclined. The course will cover problems facing local streams and the solutions needed to slow and reverse stream degradation. The course is open to the public, but space is limited. There is a $30 registration fee to cover overhead costs.
The course consists of six three-hour classes and will be held Monday  evenings from 6 to 9 pm at the Buncombe County Extension office at 94 Coxe Avenue in downtown Asheville. There is ample,free parking. The series runs September 26 - November 7 (skipping October 10). The topics and dates include: Class 1: September 26,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Introduction to watersheds ˇ What makes a healthy stream ˇ Pollutants impacting our streams Class 2: October 3,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Erosion &Sedimentation - causes and solutions Class 3: October 17,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Stormwater run-off - causes and solutions Class 4: October 24,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Illicit Discharges Class 5: October 24,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Water Quality Monitoring - how do we know how we're doing? Class 6: November 7,6:00 -9:00 pm. ˇ Laws, regulations, ordinances ˇ Programs and agencies - Who does what? Contact Diane Silver at (828) 250-4875 for more information. Hope to see you there!
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Upcoming Events
Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 1p.m. to 7p.m. --- RiverFest '11 featuring the ever popular raft race, local music competition, kids parade & activities, local food & beverages, kayak demos, corn cole competition, frisbee golf and more! Start making your "Yacht" for the anything that floats parade and don't forget to check our website for registration information. Thursday, August 18 7p.m. -- 9p.m. at the Rogow Room of the Transylvania County Library -- 150th Program: The Role of Waterways in Transylvania County. More details in column below. Thursday, August 25, 2011 11:30a.m. and 5p.m. at the RiverLink office -- Learn about WaterRICH, a program to assist homeowners in understanding rainwater management and conserve, recycle and infiltrate water right in their own yards. Read more in main column below. Thursday, September 15 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. ---The Riverfront Bus Tour Returns! Call Dave Russell at 252-8474, ext. 11 to make a reservation
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Transylvania offers an evening of French Broad River appreciation and education
A free program will explore the significance of the French Broad River and its tributaries from a variety of perspectives - industry, recreation, tourism, the economy, camps, and quality of life - both historically and currently and what we do to protect our waterways. Early settlers depended on water power to grind corn, wheat, rye, and other grains for both human and animal consumption, turned machinery to cut lumber, make furniture, turn iron bars for gun barrels, card wool, produce corn whiskey, cider and fruit brandies and later to generate electric power. Later the availability of clean water played an important role in bringing industries such as Ecusta and DuPont to Transylvania County. Today the French Broad River, Little River, Davidson River and Horsepasture River along with the numerous waterfalls throughout the county provide recreation for local residents, visitors and summer campers. Event Date: Thursday, August 18, 2011 Event Time: 7:00 pm Event Location: Transylvania County Library, Rogow Room Contact: Marcy Thompson, 828-884-3151, ext 242 |
 English Ivy Scientific Name: Hedera helix 
English ivy is an evergreen, perennial vine that forms monocultures as ground cover and is also a vigorous climber. English ivy requires especially sunny conditions to flower so to avoid fruiting remove the vines from trees where they can reach higher light levels. Cut the vines away from the base of the host tree, but avoid pulling the vines loose from the bark as this can open the host to infection. The most common mode of English ivy reproduction is via stolons; the plants root at nodes in the vine wherever they come into contact with soil. Ground infestations can be controlled by hand pulling and herbicide application. Hand pulling can be conducted at any time but may be easiest during the winter when most forest undergrowth has died back making it easy to spot the evergreen English ivy. For increased effectiveness, repeat your treatments as many times as possible within a growing season. To avoid spreading ivy during hand pulling, bag pulled plants immediately or place in a location to dry away from potential contact with soil. As English ivy grows close to the ground, mowing is generally not practical; however, persistent mulching can be effective. The infestation must be completely covered with at least two inches of mulch, for at least two growing seasons. This technique kills the plants by starving them of light. "Wanted Dead " features information about a different weed and control information each month. |
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Volunteer Spotlight:
Tom Southard
After a successful business career, in 2005 Tom hooked up with South Branch Watershed Association in Flemington, N.J. as the
Water Stewardship educator for school programs on watersheds, groundwater and Macroinvertebrates and teaching kids about healthy streams. Tom was part of a 3-year multi-agency team to assess and recommend a restoration plan for a 30- square mile subwatershed. His portion was to assess 42 stream sites using volunteers utilizing the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP). Also as volunteer, Tom did stream monitoring and was watershed liason to the high school environmental club assisting them to become a River Friendly Campus. He moved to WNC in June 2010 and has enrolled in the Blue Ridge Naturalist Certification program at The NC Arboretum. He put together an Intro Aquatic Habitat course for the Blue Ridge program. This Fall he will be developing and presenting a new Natural Water Systems program for the Blue Ridge Program. He also volunteers with RiverLink stream education programs and on various programs at the NC Arboretum.
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