From press release
June has been a very busy time for volunteer projects at RiverLink- campers and youth groups from across the country helped us out with a variety of projects across the French Broad River watershed.
RiverLink partnered with the MFuge camps at Ridgecrest for 8 days of service projects in the French Broad River watershed. Besides participating in three river cleanups, the campers from MFuge participated in an on-going stream restoration and stormwater management project in Ross Creek at property near Camp Allis.
In 2005, Ross Creek was designated as a targeted watershed by the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) and the City of Asheville for stream and wetland restoration efforts. In 2006 the City funded the development of the Ross Creek Watershed Protection and Improvement Master Plan. This plan builds on the 2001 plan, expanding it detailing the water quality assessment of Ross Creek and its watershed. The study identifies the significance of urbanization and stormwater runoff from surrounding impervious surfaces on the stream’s impairment. The plan provides recommendations to improve water quality and stream conditions, and alleviate flooding and erosion along Ross Creek, and one of the central commercial corridors in Asheville.
RiverLink’s volunteers spent the majority of their time removing invasive species from the banks of Ross Creek. The group also dug multiple rain gardens, cleared the creek of debris, and rebuilt a water fall to ensure the creek was able to flow freely.
Without the help of the volunteers, this project would have taken months to complete. But in just a few weeks, the results were enormous. Thank to the 143 volunteers who dedicated over 640 hours of their time to the improvement of water quality in Western North Carolina, Ross Creek is becoming a healthier waterway everyday.
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