On Tuesday, October 8th, Yadkin Riverkeeper held its first ever parking lot block party behind our main office on West 4th Street, in Winston-Salem, NC. The event was a Rock the Vote, Last Chance to Register 80’s Party, with music by Craig Vaughn. Putting on this event meant spreading the word, in a non-partisan fashion, around Winston-Salem by posting on group pages, flyering and connecting with local organizations and individuals in the community.

The Yadkin Riverkeeper board approved the following 2024 Advocacy Agenda document at its August 29, 2024 board meeting. Thank you to the YRK board Advocacy Committee and YRK staff for developing the document. 

At its recent meeting at the Stanly County Community College in Albemarle on September 24, Governor Roy Cooper’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council heard testimony from West Badin community members, former Alcoa employees, students from the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic (DELPC) and other advocates, including the Yadkin Riverkeeper and the NC Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN). The comments focused on the environmental impacts of the state’s delay in forcing Alcoa to clean up its former aluminum smelting site and the health impacts and environmental injustices inflicted on the West Badin community as a result of the pollution.

The YRK Advocacy Committee met during the past few months to brainstorm ideas for Get Out the Vote (GOTV) activities before the November 5th election. As a non-profit organization,these activities must be nonpartisan. The Committee considered many different activities including targeted mailings, traditional media advertising and social media outreach and presented several options to the YRK Board in August, which signed off on the plan.

The Mocksville Sewage Spill was identified on Tuesday, August 27th, 2024 by the Cooleemee Water Treatment Plant. Mocksville estimated 950,000 gallons of sewage were lost due to an underground pipe breaking at a pump station near Bear Creek. The Town of Mocksville reported the sewage was discharged underground and percolated to surface waters at Bear Creek. The Town of Mocksville repaired the pipe by the evening of August 27th.

The 2024 Swim Guide Season has come to an end after 15 weeks of assessing E. coli levels at popular swimming areas and paddle accesses across the Yadkin River basin.

Over the past year, Yadkin Riverkeeper has been working tirelessly to protect and preserve the Yadkin Pee Dee River basin, thanks to the support of donors like you. As we continue this vital work, we’re reaching out to ask you to renew your commitment to the River.

High Rock Lake is the heart of the Yadkin River watershed, fed by the River and the arteries of its tributaries. High Rock Lake (HRL) is the largest man-made reservoir in the Yadkin  watershed (15,000 acres) and unfortunately is considered impaired by the State of North Carolina for chlorophyll-a, pH and turbidity. The NC Division of Water Resources (NCDWR) has identified excessive nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, as the primary factors leading to impairment and the increase in Harmful Algal Blooms or HABs.

Yadkin Riverkeeper Edgar Miller and Yadkin River State Trail (YRST) coordinator Ward Swann, will be attending the Happy Valley Jamboree to be held August 30-September 1 at the Jones Family Farm located off Highway 268 on the Yadkin River between Wilkesboro and Patterson. YRK is developing a proposal to extend the YRST above the Kerr Scott Reservoir Dam to the Wilkes County line.

In an historic first for Yadkin Riverkeeper, YRK recently completed the acquisition of the Burch Station Access Area on the Yadkin River State Trail in Surry County at the Yadkin’s confluence with the Mitchell River. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission in cooperation with Surry County constructed the popular access area in 2015 on land under a 25-year lease agreement with Pat and the late Clyde Colwell, the original owners of the Carolina Heritage Vineyard and Winery, and founding board members of YRK.

YRK staff recently had the opportunity to assist the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) in planting native Spatterdock (yellow water lily) submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) on Tuckertown Reservoir on the Yadkin between Davidson/Montgomery and Rowan/Stanly Counties.

The Yadkin River is more than just a body of water; it’s a vital artery that pulses with North Carolina's rich history, culture, and natural beauty. As a recent adventurer who kayaked the Yadkin River State Trail, I’ve experienced firsthand the profound connection between the river and the communities, landscapes, and ecosystems it nourishes. This journey, which spanned from the Kerr Scott Reservoir in Wilkesboro to York Hill, just before High Rock Lake, was both a physical challenge and a deeply enriching experience that brought me closer to the heart of the Yadkin River Valley.

Read Yadkin Riverkeeper’s Spring/Summer appeal- Every drop counts!

Yadkin Riverkeeper Edgar Miller took to the air again on March 25 with SouthWings pilot Holliday Obrecht, III and observer/YRK member Grace Broughton. The flight, provided by SouthWings and Mr. Obrecht, surpassed our expectations, yielding photos and insights to advance YRK’s major priorities, including enforcement of concentrated animal feeding operations or “CAFO” permits, assessment of existing and future river accesses on the Yadkin River State Trail and South Yadkin, and identifying other threats to the Yadkin and South Yadkin Rivers. The flights always remind us of the eternal beauty of the Yadkin watershed, its amazing history and the critical role it plays in sustaining our way of life. What follows is a series of photos highlighting many of the issues impacting the River taking off from the Davidson County airport near Lexington, flying upriver along the Davie/Forsyth border up to Yadkin, Surry and Wilkes counties and back down the South Yadkin over Alexander, Iredell, Davie and Rowan counties.

Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) recently attended an emotional panel discussion organized by the Concerned Citizens of West Badin and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network at UNC-Chapel Hill on February 28th. The state of North Carolina has not held Alcoa accountable for the toxic waste left behind in West Badin, NC, and the progress towards cleanup remains at a standstill. YRK continues to support the state requiring excavation of contaminated soil in the areas of this community where Alcoa disposed of hazardous aluminum smelting waste in unlined landfills. 

Meet our 2024 proposed YRK Board Members!

Meet our new 2024 interns!

An unseasonably and unusually intense winter thunderstorm on January 10 brought rainfalls levels of three to four inches to the Northwest and Central Piedmont in a matter of several hours leading to widespread flooding throughout the watershed on January 11. The Yadkin crested at just over 25’ on January 11 at the Yadkin College US Geologic Survey stream gauge near the Highway 64 bridge as it crosses the River between Davidson and Davie Counties. The River rose almost 24 feet in 24 hours and spilled out of its banks.

Wetlands have been described as the kidneys of the waters and land. They filter out pollution and store water during heavy rainfall events. They also provide vital habitat for fish and myriad other species. But in the past few months, the US Supreme Court and North Carolina legislature ended protections for over 2.5 million acres of wetlands in the State. Expect dirtier water, fewer trout, increased flooding, and a decrease in ecosystem quality as a result.

In the Yadkin River watershed, this could mean less protection for our isolated wetlands, floodplains and headwater streams. Although less than two percent of the watershed’s land base is classified as wetlands, these filters are critical to limiting flooding, reducing sediment and nutrient pollution runoff into the river and protecting drinking water supplies for more than 1 million North Carolinians.

Your past support for Yadkin Riverkeeper helped us achieve our goal of uniting communities along the River around the common goals of improving water quality and recreational access throughout the watershed. Protecting our most fundamental natural resource necessary for survival is critical to our future sustainability.