Plateau Magazine Feb/Mar 2021

Kids In The Creek with Mainspring
Conservation Trust; (right) Trout Unlimited
improving our waterways
Invasive, nonnative plants also pose a
threat. Kudzu, a plant we are all familiar
with, grows quickly and can cause a
fair amount of destruction. “[Kudzu] ...
prevents oaks from producing acorns. A
hillside overtaken with kudzu basically
eliminates the habitat for species in the
area,” says Paige Engelbrektsson, the
nature center education specialist for the
Highlands Biological Station. Engelbrektsson
urges homeowners to commit to only
using native plants in their landscapes,
and if a manageable invasive species such
as English ivy is present, to work towards
eliminating it as best they can. Kudzu,
however, is far too prolific to battle alone,
and that is where an organization such as
the Coalition for Nonnative Invasive Plant
Management proves highly beneficial to
the community.
Using native plants not only helps combat
issues from their nonnative counterparts,
but it creates a healthier, thriving
population of pollinator insects. “The
thing about nonnative plants,” says Kyle
Pursel, “is it’s kind of like junk food...some
have no nutrients at all.” Caring for the
land and protecting species such as our
giant eastern hemlocks to the smallest
wildflowers that feed our butterflies and
honeybees impacts all other types of wildlife
in our area.
Caring for Our Waterways
Our picturesque lakes, rivers, streams
and waterfalls attract all kinds of people,
from hikers and photographers to avid
anglers—and keeping those waterways
clean is a never-ending task for many
groups and organizations. Two local retailers,
Headwaters Outfitters and Brookings
Anglers, take the health and vitality
of the plateau’s waterways very seriously.
“One of our biggest concerns is roadside
trash,” says Jessica Whitmire, operations
and marketing manager for Headwaters
Outfitters.
Teaming with other local businesses,
Headwaters Outfitters has sponsored
a major clean-up project on the upper
French Broad River annually for over 30
years and have since removed over 15 tons
of trash, including hundreds of old tires
and even the occasional mattress and box
springs. “We are thankfully seeing less
historical trash,” Whitmire says. “It is
getting better, but there is always room
for improvement. We can all step it up a
little more.” Whitmire does not believe
most people litter on purpose. Instead, the
bulk of what is seen now comes from improperly
secured garbage or has escaped
vehicles when doors are opened—accidental
culprits from well-intentioned people.
Unfortunately, there are still some who
do not utilize garbage cans when visiting
our parks and scenic spots, which adds
additional work for staff and volunteer
groups—and much of it ends up in our
waterways.
Matt Canter, owner of Brookings Anglers,
agrees, although it isn’t only garbage
he wants people to consider. Beneath
the surface of the water is a complicated
and fragile ecosystem that not only benefits
tremendously from getting rid of the
obvious pollution, but needs special consideration
during property development,
and it starts with healthy insect populations.
Stoneflies, for example, spend 99%
of their life cycle underwater, and they
need the rocky river bottom to survive.
Silt runoff from development sites can
travel for miles downstream before it settles
over these rocks, potentially disrupting
the stonefly, a major food source for
our beloved trout.
“And the trout need the rocks to lay
eggs, as well,” says Canter, making the
degradation of rocky river bottoms doubly
troublesome for one of the area’s most
iconic and popular fish: the brook trout. To
further complicate matters, along some of
our riverbanks we’re inadvertently raising
the temperature of the water as well.
“[Trout] need cool water,” Canter says,
specifying 70-degrees or below. “When we
PHOTO MAINSPRING CONSERVATION TRUST
64 | ThePlateauMag.com