While North Carolina’s French Broad River got walloped like never before by Hurricane Helene, thankfully there’s a longstanding organization that exists to protect it. RiverLink, which has been operating for nearly 40 years in the region, promotes the environmental and economic vitality of the French Broad River and its watershed for all.
Among its efforts are improving watershed health and climate resilience, providing public access to the river through conservation and recreation easements, reclaiming contaminated lands for public use and enjoyment, empowering over 1,000 volunteers each year, and annually educating over 4,000 students, as well as the public at large, about the importance of a healthy French Broad River watershed.
RiverLink was conceived at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce in the mid-1980s in an effort to keep visitors “one more day” beyond their stay at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Its founders Jean Webb, Robert Kendrick and Caroll Hughes quickly hired founding director Karen Cragnolin who went on to serve RiverLink and the region for 30 years and is considered one of the region’s greatest visionaries for seeing parks, paddle trails, and experiential K-12 educational opportunities where others may have seen only the neglect of the river that was emblematic of the Riverfront in the 1980s.
The group’s work has helped facilitate the creation of numerous riverside parks including Carrier Park, French Broad River Park and Jean Webb Park (named in honor of RiverLink incorporator Jean Webb). These public spaces help fulfill RiverLink’s vision of promoting the French Broad River and its watershed as a valuable community asset that encourages people to experience the river as a place to live, learn, work and play.
RiverLink’s legacy is described by author Wilma Dykeman in “The French Broad”: “There is only one respectable course for a free citizen and that is to shoulder his share of the responsibility for the ‘killing’, for the pollution . . . Because, just as the river belongs to no one, it belongs to everyone and everyone is held accountable for its health and condition.”
Today RiverLink is stronger than ever, and continues to be the only regional nonprofit whose work focuses exclusively on the French Broad. Its passionate team works hard to bring environmental education opportunities to local youth, complete stream restoration and watershed planning projects, and assists landowners in creating conservation easements on their properties.
Know of a stream that was damaged by Helene? RiverLink is spreading some love to other local waterways affected by Hurricane Helene through its Adopt-A-Stream program where it equips property owners with the resources and knowledge to repair and steward their eroded streams.
Want to donate to their efforts? Doing so helps educate the next generation of river stewards; underwrites water and land management for a healthy watershed; supports climate resilience; and helps restore a thriving French Broad riverway for all. Donate here: