Before industrialization, most people living along the rivers and streams in the Southern Appalachians were self-sustaining farmers who knew that protecting their natural resources was essential for their continued existence. Good stewardship was as important as good citizenship and a deep connection to their faith.

Wilma Dykeman, the award-winning author and ardent mountain environmentalist was a passionate protector of the French Broad watershed, standing up to Champion Paper and other manufacturers that were killing the river. The growth of camps, outfitters and breweries are only possible today due to her heroism.

The Upper French Broad Defense Association was an organization of local farmers and conservationists who fought the TVA’s plans to build 14 dams along the French Broad and its tributaries which would have flooded over 18,000 acres of prime farmland and displaced thousands. Their success is a testament to what a determined community can do to protect its natural resources.

Marjory was one of the first to give prominence to the “river of grass” clarifying that it wasn’t a swamp, but a critical ecosystem for hundreds of plants and animals and the source of drinking water for millions of people. First as an author, then as an advocate, she made Floridians, Americans and the world care about the Everglades.

Champion Paper brought good paying jobs into Haywood County, North Carolina but it also brought toxic pollution dumped directly into the Pigeon River. The poisonous dioxin they released killed the fish, the cows and resulted in high cancer rates in East Tennessee. The Dead Pigeon River Council along with other groups stood up to the paper mill demanding they stop their toxic ways.

Environmental watchdogs and water-connected businesses have picked up the gauntlet from the river heroes of yesterday, working to educate, monitor and advocate for clean waterways so that we all can live in a healthy, sustainable and protected ecosystem along with the other critters that call our region home.