Let us give special thanks to CCC member Maurice Blackburn who served as the club's representative during the Catawba-Wateree relicensing negotiations with Duke Energy and many, many stakeholders. This required years of effort.
The 40-year license went into effect Nov. 1, 2015 and will expire in 2055, although Duke wants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make this a 50-year license.
Larry Ausley seems to enjoy filling his canoe up with trash.
Thanks to Larry, there were 1,000 fewer bottles floating around rivers and streams in 2015. It's something he has done for the last five years.
On a day that Larry cut two trees out of eddies on the Lower Haw, he topped his eddy-clearing efforts by collecting more bottles on the way to the take out.
Click here to see a photo of Larry's bottle-filled boat: bit.ly/1IZvkc6
By Bob Brueckner
Don't forget to thank those club members who collect trash at the Bynum access area on the Haw. And don't forget Steve Bruno, who lines up volunteers every January.
These are the volunteers who helped in 2015: Nancy Guthrie, Larry Ausley, Bobby Simpson, Jan Bolen, Dave Adcock, Wes Dodson and Bob Brueckner.
If you'd like to help contact Steve Bruno at stevebruno@earthlink.net.
By Bob Brueckner
CCC Conservation Chair
The access on Old Greensboro Highway, which will be called the Union Bridge Paddle Access, is in the final stages of construction before being open to the public, according to Haw River Trail coordinator Guil Johnson.
The staircase and sign installation will be done in January.
This access will complete the Alamance County portion of the Haw River Paddle Trail.
There are seven public access areas for paddlers from Alamance County to Jordan Lake in Chatham County.
Alamance Parks has received an $84,000 grant from the NC Recreational Trails Program to develop Saxapahaw Island Park on the Haw River Trail. The grant will support construction of the park's trails and trailhead, as well as the surrounding Haw River Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
The county has scheduled a waterfront design session in January.
An access on the island could be used as a take-out for the slalom section upstream in the tailrace of the Saxapahaw Dam or as a put-in for a section of the the Haw that ends at Old Greensboro Highway.
The CCC members previously voted to approve $1,000 for the purchase and support of the Watauga River Access at Guy Ford Road. At the December Meeting, it was proposed that the club provide an additional $1,000. Please cast your vote for this second iteration of the Watauga access.
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Where else can you find a weed whacker, hula hoop, 18 paddling buddies and a river bank made of old cars? Try the Tuckasegee River in Bryson City.
Eighteen canoeists and kayakers descended on the Town Tuck section of the river and removed 650 pounds of trash June 30 during Week of Rivers. The trash included glass liquor bottles, an umbrella, fishing net, soggy carpets (complete with growing plants), plenty of beer cans, a seat cushion and tarps.
The 2015 Yee-Haw! River Paddle is scheduled for May 9, and event organizers need two to three safety boaters for the afternoon trip in Alamance County.
The trip runs along a 4.2-mile section from Shallow Ford Paddle Access near Garringer Mill Road to Indian Valley Paddle Access. It starts at 1 p.m.
If you're interested, please contact Brenda Wichmann, Haw River Trial coordinator, at Brenda.Wichmann@Alamance-NC.com or 336-229-2380.
The News & Observer reports that nine federal charges have been filed against Duke Energy for coal ash spills into four of North Carolina's rivers.
Violations occurred at plants on the Dan, Neuse, Catawba and French Broad rivers. In addition, charges say Duke failed to maintain treatment system equipment at plants on the Dan and Cape Fear.
