According to the city’s website, the plan, being drafted by Winston-Salem-based consultant AECOM for $95,000, “will incorporate all new additions of policies and resolutions while creating a roadmap on how to accomplish adopted goals” for sustainability and climate through 2030.
Green in brief: Nonprofits plan conversion of Saluda Grade into trail
The path, running along an inactive railway, would stretch about 31 miles northwest from Inman, S.C., through Tryon and Saluda before terminating in Zirconia, about 7 miles southeast of Hendersonville. Hendersonville-based Conserving Carolina; Greenville, S.C.-based Upstate Forever; and Spartanburg, S.C.-based PAL are leading the effort.
How much solar energy does local government produce?
Both Buncombe County and the city of Asheville have resolved that, by the end of 2030, government operations will be powered entirely by renewable energy. With less than eight years until that deadline, what progress has been made toward the energy goals?
Green in brief: Morrow Landing to offer new French Broad access near Brevard
The land, purchased by Conserving Carolina, falls roughly halfway between the current Island Ford and Hap Simpson Park access points, which are separated by nearly 10 miles of river. Morrow Landing’s placement will therefore facilitate shorter trips by less experienced river users and improve access for emergency responders.
From CPP: Objections to proposed plan for WNC national forests delay process
The U.S. Forest Service’s proposed land management plan for the Pisgah and Nantahala forests has drawn thousands of objections, leading to an extension of time to review concerns. The Forest Service chief now calls the plan revision process, which took more than a decade, unsustainable.
From CPP: How can we save NC forests?
On June 7, Carolina Public Press held a free and open virtual event with a panel of experts to discuss threats to the future of public forests in the state, including climate change. A recording of the event is linked to this story.
Green in brief: MountainTrue turns 2022 Bioblitz into friendly competition
“By expanding the blitz to four counties and making a game of it, we hope to be able to engage more people and find more species,” said MountainTrue Public Lands Biologist Josh Kelly. “We might even find some that have never been recorded in our region.”
Planning and Zoning Commission recommends plan for Asheville greenways, sidewalks
As presented by Lucy Crown, the city’s greenways program planner, Close the GAP combines a proposed map of greenway and pedestrian networks with updates to city policies and design standards. Asheville City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal in July.
Buncombe’s Comprehensive Plan 2043 enters third phase
When complete, the document will be a nonbinding, advisory blueprint of where residents and county officials want the county to be in 2043 and will outline the goals, objectives and policies needed to achieve that vision.
From CPP: Rethinking NC mountain habitat conservation in the face of climate change
Innovative approaches such as land restoration and private-public partnerships, as well as revisiting tried approaches such as herd grazing and indigenous land management, offer partial answers to the challenges of a changing climate in WNC forests.
From CPP: Mountain trails face stress from cyclists and climate change
Maintaining trails in Western North Carolina’s mountain forests poses tough choices between recreation and sustainability.
From CPP: Elk and other large species in NC mountains constrained by changing habitats, human activity
Climate change and extreme weather events disrupt habitat areas and food sources in NC mountain forests, while human infrastructure blocks natural migration paths and creates dangers near roadways for large animal species.
From CPP: Whipsawed by erratic weather, mountain forest ecosystems under stress
Researchers seek to understand risks climate change poses for the Blue Ridge woodlands of Western North Carolina while many residents experience the disruption of extreme weather.
Green in brief: Chestnut Mountain Nature Park opens to public
About 35 acres of the nearly 450-acre tract — purchased by the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2020 and recently transferred to the town of Canton — are now open, including the Berm Park mountain bike skills course and a mixed-use hiking/biking trail.
Commissioners to consider $70M in bond referendums on November ballot
One referendum would authorize $30 million in borrowing for conservation projects while a second referendum would authorize $40 million in bonds for affordable housing efforts.
Q&A: Ashley Featherstone of Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency
Growing up in Hendersonville, Ashley Featherstone assumed she would move away for work. “I was always told that you could never find a job here,” she recalls. “There are [fewer] jobs here than there are in places like Atlanta and Charlotte. But I just decided that I was going to find a job.” And she […]
Beer Scout: Sierra Nevada, Hi-Wire explore different sides of sustainability
Chris Frosaker discusses what goes on behind-the-scenes in Hi-Wire’s expansions while the Sierra Nevada sustainability team offers an update on its work.
Green in brief: MountainTrue seeks ban on single-use plastics
A study conducted by MountainTrue found an average of 19 microplastic particles — pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, formed by the breakdown of larger plastics — per liter of water in local river systems. Exposure to microplastics has been tied to allergic reactions and other health impacts in humans, as well as negative effects on fish.
Q&A with Karin Rogers, interim director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center
Whether by hiking the debris flow pathway of a landslide or reading arcane scientific articles, Karin Rogers dedicates herself to understanding complex scientific data so she can translate that information for ordinary people to understand.
Study puts $3.8B annual price tag on French Broad
A recently completed study, commissioned by the French Broad River Partnership in 2019 and led by economist Steve Ha of Western Carolina University, sets the total economic value of the French Broad and its tributaries at $3.8 billion per year. By comparison, the Blue Ridge Parkway that also runs through Asheville creates about $1.3 billion in economic output per year.
From CPP: Tackling stormwater with ARPA funds in Brevard
The city in North Carolina’s rainiest county is putting much of its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds toward stormwater infrastructure.