Friends of the Lower Haw and the CCC

Friends of the Lower Haw and the CCC

a Carolina Paddler Article

By Gretchen Smith

FLOHA.  What the heck is FLOHA?  FLOHA is the acronym for Friends of Lower Haw River State Natural Area.  It comes from “F” for “Friends” and “LOHA”, which is the 4-character code assigned by the NC State Parks system for “Lower Haw River State Natural Area”.  LOHA consists of over 1,000 acres along both sides of the Haw River from above US 15-501 near Bynum to below US 64 where it adjoins the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.  This stretch of the river is special for its scenic beauty, flora and fauna habitats, geological features, and the best whitewater paddling in the Piedmont.  FLOHA seems an appropriate acronym for a local Friends group that supports a riverine state natural area.

So, who is this FLOHA you ask?  We are a local chapter under the umbrella of a statewide nonprofit organization, NC Friends of State Parks.  Formed in July of 2016, our all-volunteer local chapter provides stewardship, education, and advocacy for the Lower Haw River State Natural Area as well as the Chatham County segment of the newly authorized Haw River State Trail.  We value a non-partisan and non-confrontational approach to networking, collaboration, and partnerships.  Our activities include:

Stewardship: enhancing infrastructure and restoring habitat.

Education: providing educational programs to connect people with nature and to promote public awareness of the Lower Haw ecosystem.

Advocacy: encouraging conservation of lands along and surrounding the Lower Haw River State Natural Area, and establishment and maintenance of sustainable land and paddle trails.

Our Vision Statement: We envision a Lower Haw River State Natural Area that is expanded in size, strategically developed, well maintained, and connected to local and regional trails systems.

Our Mission Statement:  The Lower Haw is a special place that we’re committed to conserving and enhancing for current enjoyment while creating a legacy for future generations.

In support of our vision and mission, we focus primarily on promoting three major goals:

-Active management of LOHA by State Parks and/or Chatham County.  LOHA is considered a satellite operation of Jordan Lake State Recreation for management purposes, but it is not actively managed.  The situation that currently exists at LOHA is what could be described as “passive management”; there are no ongoing park staff present to take care of it.  The area has problems with illegal campfires and camping and the litter associated with these prohibited activities. The activities of visitors using illegal drugs and alcohol contribute to litter and party noise.  We have problems with spray-paint graffiti on trees, rocks, and structures.  Active management means there would be park staff present daily to patrol the area and enforce park rules, to enhance visitor experience and to ensure both visitor and resource protection.  Regular staff would maintain the area, provide natural resource conservation and stewardship, and provide the types of wonderful ranger programs that are offered to visitors in other units of the state parks system.

-Development of sustainable land and paddle trails.  Although visitors use LOHA daily for hiking, paddling, fishing, and wildlife viewing, the existing “trails” are informal social footpaths.  Sites used by paddlers to put-in, and take-out boats are primitive and highly eroded.  Developing sustainable land trails and paddle launches will help prevent further degradation and restore degraded areas to their natural ecosystem.  Sustainably designed trails and launches support current and future recreational use while minimizing its impact to the natural area.

-Expansion of LOHA and the Haw River State Trail through land acquisition and easements.  Most state natural areas in the NC State Parks system are in remote locations where few people visit.  However, the situation with LOHA is not like most other state natural areas. LOHA is surrounded by an increasingly urbanized population growth.  Visitation to LOHA is multiplying as the surrounding population grows and more people get outside.  We need to broaden conservation of the river corridor to protect this important natural resource.  We need to expand the number of publicly accessible sites to diffuse this increasing visitation and to mitigate adverse effects of overuse on natural ecosystems.

Examples of what we do include volunteer workdays for invasive plant removal and pollinator garden upkeep.  We provide guided outings on various topics (like the USGS Bynum Gage outing described in Carolina Paddler). Our volunteers maintain and empty designated trash cans, hold litter and debris clean-ups, monitor bird boxes and wildlife cameras, and build infrastructure like kiosks and shade shelters at US 15-501 and US 64.  We successfully advocated for getting the NC General Assembly authorization for the Haw River State Trail.

We partnered with Chatham County government to form the Chatham County Haw River Trail Steering Committee. This group recently completed a Haw River Trail Study generating a list of recommended projects that subcommittees are working on to implement.  FLOHA also participates in the Haw River Safety Collaborative to develop river safety signage, a notification system, and educational programming for recreational users of the Chatham County segment of the Haw. This program could serve as a potential model for other river systems in the state.

 We participate on the Friends of Haw River State Trail partnership, which is working to implement a five-year plan for the land and paddle-based Haw River State Trail.  FLOHA is a member of the Great Trail State Coalition that successfully advocated for significant funding for all types of land and paddle trails in the state budget.

Partnerships are important to us and the work we do, and the Carolina Canoe Club has been a helpful partner throughout the years.  Learn more about us at www.lowerhaw.org.  You can find our 2023 Annual Report and monthly newsletters on our website’s Publications page.  Also check out the information on our website’s River Levels and Activities pages.  We’re excited to be partners with the CCC in responsibly using and protecting the Lower Haw for years to come.

Gretchen Smith, President

Friends of Lower Haw River State Natural Area