Kayaks glide over a glassy surface. The occasional splashes of fish going after bugs on the surface reflect the last of the silver sunset in ways that give the illusion of white waterborne fireflies. Paddlers take this all in while discussing common interests; paddling, water quality and, most of all, the upcoming paddling season. If you have an interest in being part of the environment and camaraderie that we had on the Salem Lake Moonlight Paddle, then get your calendar out and save some room for trips with the Yadkin Riverkeeper in 2026.

Twenty-five staff members from nine North and South Carolina Waterkeeper organizations met in Winston-Salem on March 17–18 to discuss advocacy priorities, including data center impacts and hurricane preparedness. Waterkeepers Carolina (WKC) meets twice per year, and this spring, Yadkin Riverkeeper hosted the coalition in Winston-Salem.

On March 19th, Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) hosted the final forum of their series on local water quality issues and the proposed High Rock Lake Nutrient Management Strategy, or High Rock Lake Rules.

Forsyth Creek Week is March 21 - 29, 2026!

Check out their new website and all Creek Week events HERE.

Every year, the NC State Institute for Emerging Issues hosts a forum and this year, it was on water! There could not be a more imminent concern in our great state of North Carolina; we are facing greater water demand, water quality impairments, larger and more frequent storm events that put enormous pressure on our surface waters, utility systems, and infrastructure. Attendees from water servicing, providing, treating, distributing, consuming and protecting came together to discuss the future of water quality in our region and the workforce that manages it. 

Yadkin Riverkeeper held a half day board-staff retreat on February 28 at the Catawba College Center for the Environment in Salisbury.

Yadkin Riverkeeper is proud to announce that Layne Meredith has stepped into the full-time role of Director of Development.

On February 23, 2026 Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) and Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) hosted the second forum of a series to inform stakeholders and local residents about water quality in their region and the High Rock Lake Rules, which are designed to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, stormwater and agricultural runoff in all waters that drain into High Rock Lake.

Edgar and I were talking recently about river stories and bemoaning the decline across North Carolina in the kinds of environmental stories YRK members care so much about.

Working with photographer Christine Rucker, I have been a longtime teller of river stories beginning with Yadkin River Story back in 2010 and Dance for the River in 2017.  I recently launched a policy and politics newsletter called Down from DC  and Edgar asked me to share my go-to sources for environmental news. Most are free but some are behind a paywall. They are all worth your time.

Don’t know about you, but as I write this, Spring Fever has hit. While I see in the forecast 20 degree weather, I’m also seeing the green of Daffodils, the budding of trees not yet taking color and robins starting to hunt worms in the soft, snow-soaked yard. My brain knows it’s a lie, but my heart hears the Spring Peeps roar as we paddle past on the South Yadkin. It’s time to make sure the mice haven’t overwintered in your boats. For those folks with sit inside boats out there, keep birds from nesting in them by putting a cover over the cockpit. I’ve had to change what boat I was going to take more than once due to a little feathered family in progress. Just like Spring, Paddling season is on the way!

It was great to see everyone who participated in our virtual Annual Membership Meeting on February 3rd! In case you missed it, find out more about what we’ve been up to and where we’re headed from Riverkeeper/Executive Director Edgar Miller’s State of the Yadkin River report. Scroll through the slides below or download the full presentation HERE.

As another significant year for the Yadkin River heads over the dam(s), it’s time to reflect on our efforts to protect this invaluable resource that provides drinking water for more than one million North Carolinians. While we have accomplished much in 2025, much remains to be done. It would be nice to get an assist from Santa for some of these…

On December 8, the Davidson County Commissioners passed a resolution of concern regarding Transco’s Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP). The pipeline will cross through Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford counties, and the project will expand the compressor station in Davidson County. The resolution requests that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) deny approval of the project and issuance of any permits until the following recommendations by the Commissioners are met:

As we move past the Winter Solstice I am reminded that it’s harder (not impossible) to get out and paddle in the Winter months. But that doesn’t mean that I am not thinking about getting out. Short dark days mean curling up with books and maps that feed the curiosity that would normally be satisfied in the seat of a boat. Fortunately for me, work feeds me a steady diet of planning for the next year’s paddles, fulfilling grant requirements, meeting various people wearing Carhartt jackets in muddy fields to talk about access possibilities, and making maps.

In the beginning of 2026 Yadkin Riverkeeper and watershed partners will come together to present six educational forums in three regions of the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin. The forum purpose is to inform about local and regional water quality challenges and how those challenges collectively led to the impairment of High Rock Lake (HRL) and the designation of the Yadkin River, upstream of the lake, as “nutrient sensitive.”

This summer, on one of the hottest days of July, I stood on the banks of the Yadkin River watching families wade into the water with children laughing, dogs splashing, parents relaxing nearby. It was a perfect day to be outside, and it was also a powerful reminder of why our work matters so much.

For the past five years, our Swim Guide program has helped keep our communities safe by testing water quality across the watershed each week from May through September. We sampled 26 sites and collected more than 340 samples for E. coli this year; sharing that information publicly so families can make informed, real-time decisions about where to swim, paddle, or fish.

This week, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit for the Alcoa Badin Business Park. Although Yadkin Riverkeeper and our partners hope to see the legacy toxic sites left behind by Alcoa in West Badin cleaned up, this permit is a hopeful example of the public comment process and DEQ’s consideration of the public’s concerns.

Let me introduce you to the newest paddle trail in the neighborhood, The South Yadkin Paddle Trail. What makes this a new paddle trail since the accesses and portage around Cooleemee Dam were already there? NC Wildlife Resource Commission has established the accesses at the beginning of the trail, Cooleemee Junction, and the end of the trail, Hannah Ferry. The Town of Cooleemee has the access at Cooleemee River Park that also provides portaging around the dam. And Cube Hydro has the 601 access. All of these have been opportunities to get on the water and enjoy the South Yadkin River for years now. So, what’s new?

Over the last several months, Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) staff has been collaborating with watershed partners to plan regional watershed educational forums in early 2026. The purpose of these forums is to educate and inform stakeholders and the general public on water quality issues and potential solutions within the subbasins of the High Rock Lake Watershed, including the Yadkin and South Yadkin Rivers. These forums are designed to showcase local and regional challenges that have led to High Rock Lake (HRL) status as an “impaired” body of water and the designation of the Yadkin River above HRL as “nutrient sensitive.” Regions have been separated into the Upper, Middle and Lower Yadkin, with six total forums planned, the first beginning in January 2026 and finishing in early March 2026.

Transco proposed an expansion to a natural gas pipeline in North Carolina and Virginia as part of the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP). The SSEP includes a loop called the Salem Loop which will cross Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford counties (visit this link to view its path). This pipeline would consist of a 42-inch diameter pipe, as large as a hula hoop, pumping fracked natural gas from Pennsylvania and West Virginia through Virginia and North Carolina to the southeast and even for export.