Three Riverkeepers from the East to the West Coast of the U.S. began their 150-mile exploration paddling from Smithfield to New Bern, North Carolina on Sept. 29, 2022. New Bern Now (NBN) met them as they completed their expedition at Glenburnie Park today, Oct. 8.
Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop is based in Raleigh but spends a lot of time in New Bern. Rogue Riverkeeper Emily Bowes is from Southwestern Oregon. And Jill Howell is the Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper based out of little Washington in North Carolina. Pups Charlie Krop and Miller Howell tagged along on the 11-day adventure.
We asked them to talk about their journey here:
Samantha Krop said, “This is part of our Neuse River rising paddle journey, which is an effort to raise awareness about all of the beautiful things on the river, as well as a lot of the issues that the river faces. And also a journey for us to get to know the Neuse River from inside and out to better support our own work, caring for and protecting the river in this watershed. So, we saw a lot of really beautiful things along the river and along this 11-day journey and we also saw firsthand a lot of the issues that we do water sampling and investigations around. It was a really fulfilling and educational experience. And not to mention tons and tons and tons of fun.”
Emily Bowes said, “I came on this trip because I wanted to see a different kind of river and it could not be more different than a West Coast, high alpine river like the Rogue. So, getting into somewhere with beautiful Cypress groves and the calm still water of the swamps. There’s really no better place to see a sunset or sunrise, and just tons of lovely wildflowers and wildlife and just really calm still water that anyone can get on.”
Jill Howell explained, “Obviously there was many beautiful, I guess, sights to see along the river whether it was wildlife or the plant life or just…a beautiful sunset. The other thing that we were doing while we were paddling was stopping to highlight some of the pollution issues that we know are impacting the Neuse….so we were able to see over the course of these 11-days, issues like Duke Energy, we paddled right by where the coal ash spill occured in 2018. So paddling basically through waters that have basically been contaminated with coal ash due to the toxic legacy of the H.F. Lee plant owned by Duke Energy. We passed by eroding banks where folks have cut the buffers and so there was no tree growth along the riverbanks. The sides are eroding causing sedimentation. So, the rivers all muddy because when it rains and we’re on the water after the hurricane, that rainwater washes all that sediment that’s no longer held in place because the trees have been cut into the river. We saw big issues and little ones. And while the river is beautiful and we would recommend everybody get out there and paddle it and see it for themselves, there are still a number of issues along the river that still needs to be addressed to protect the health of the water for the sake of the water itself and the people that that rely on it.”
NBN asked how people can get involved and support Sound Rivers. Krop responded, “We would love it if folks would get involved with our work, we have tons of opportunities for people to plug in. We have volunteer water sampling opportunities on both of our rivers. We also have opportunities to help us do outreach in communities that rely on and live on our rivers. And we also have opportunities to help us with sort of investigating and getting to know about the goods and the bads, the issues and all of the beautiful things on the river. We are, you know, only a small staff and we have really big watersheds and so we actually rely on those who are living in the watersheds and who love the rivers to be a part of that and to keep their eyes peeled and to keep us in the loop when there’s something that is worth investigating…I think this journey was just so successful in us getting a really firsthand experience with all of the issues on the river and also all of the things that I would recommend people go and see on the river. I feel confident that you know if someone wants to say what should I do on the Neuse River, I have 150 recommendations, one for at least every river mile that we’ve paddled. So please do get involved with us, whether it’s just for fun to get out on the river or to help us with some of the investigative work we’re doing.”
Jill Howell added, “We are a nonprofit organization. So, if you’ve seen this video or just something that we were highlighting jumps out to you, whether you recreate or saw an issue that you want to help us with, you can also donate at soundrivers.org. We are a small organization that relies on folks donating in order to be able to do the work that we do.”
Learn about their 11-day journey on Sound Rivers Facebook page.
By Wendy Card, Editor