At the end of August, a dedicated community advocate discovered Duke Energy sent a request to Davie County to approve a Certification of Zoning for the parcel Duke owns on the river, the Perkins Game Land. The certification allows for the two gas-fired plants, each about 1,360 megawatts, to be built on land zoned for residential and agricultural use instead of going through the rezoning process to designate the land for heavy industrial use. On September 10, Davie County approved Duke’s request for the certificate without any public notice or input. They completely skipped the rezoning process without establishing any conditions on an expansive industrial site near residents’ homes and farms.

The Yadkin Riverkeeper’s 2026 paddling season wrapped up. The season isn’t quite over for paddlers who are prepared for cold water, but coming to the end of scheduled trips on the calendar invites some reflection. It’s been a heck of a year. We’ve had 21 events that involved paddling, clean-ups or both. Only two had to be canceled. Six events were clean-ups that brought in roughly 3,000 pounds of trash. YRK has gotten people on the water in 331 instances this year and when you add the distances that each paddled in those days, we have paddled 2,706 miles.

More than 75 Riverkeeper supporters attended the first ever “It Starts With a River Film Festival” at the Reeves Theater in Elkin on September 19. The festival included films of local, regional and national interest, including the NC premiere of “The Keeper” by award-winning National Geographic documentary film maker, Jon Bowermaster. The film recently won the top prize at the New York City Climate Change Film Festival and chronicles the nation’s first ever Riverkeeper organization’s efforts to protect the Hudson River.

Earlier this month, Yadkin Riverkeeper finished its final week of E. coli testing for Swim Guide! Our summer intern, Lance Morrison, did a great job coordinating the program this summer. Thank you to all our amazing volunteers who collected water samples from swim and paddle accesses from the mountains in Happy Valley to High Rock Lake every Wednesday.

I was among many other Waterkeepers from across the world in Quito, Ecuador this past week to share ideas, connect with fellow water advocates, and think through collective goals. It’s always exciting to see a room full of Waterkeepers excited to share stories of their successes, lessons learned, and about their favorite swimming holes and paddling trips.

Well, I did it! After months of planning and preparation, I paddled the entire length of the Yadkin River State Trail—more than 200 miles. Back in January, Ward, the Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator, as well as my friend and mentor, told me he had a vision: to organize a paddle covering the full length of the trail. Well, that lit the fire, and the wheels started rolling. By June, we had an itinerary and held our first meeting. For the first time, it felt real! We had people, and we had a plan.

Don’t put away those canoes and kayaks just yet! You don’t have to have special gear; you can enjoy great paddling in the Yadkin Basin well into November. Even if you don’t join us on one of the two trips we have planned in October, you should absolutely get out to one of the reservoirs like Tuckertown, Badin or Falls.

In case you missed it, The Long Paddle ended last week. While on their journey, Nicole Eastman and Ward Swann kept journals of their travels. Click on the links below to see their pics and entries by day or scroll through all of them from the bottom of this page.

Day 1: Happy Valley

Day 2: Kerr Scott Lake

Day 3: Tailwaters to Ronda

Day 4: Elkin to Shores

Day 5: Shores to Easy Bend Farms

Day 6: Easy Bend Farms to Huntsville Access

Day 7: Tanglewood to Highway 64

Day 8: Highway 64 to Boone's Cave

Day 9: Boone's Cave to York Hill

Day 10: High Rock Lake

Day 11: Tuckertown

Day 12: Badin Lake