Tag: Fishing
Riverkeepers
March 28, 2023
Riverkeepers
Samantha Krop
Neuse Riverkeeper
“I grew up swimming, boating and kayaking in the brackish waters and swamps and have always, always, been in love with rivers. … I’m honored to be working with the people of the Neuse to advocate for the river and all those who rely on it.”
Samantha Krop is the Neuse Riverkeeper, Sound Rivers’ advocate for the health of the Neuse and its many tributaries, from Durham to Havelock. Sam came to Sound Rivers from Oregon, where she served as the coalitions coordinator for the Forest Waters Coalition, a network of conservationists and community members working together to create stronger protections for Oregon’s forested watersheds. Prior to her full-time role as a coalitions builder, she taught undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in environmental justice and pedagogy at the University of Oregon. A native of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Sam is no stranger to North Carolina rivers: she spent summers at Camp Celo on the shores of the South Toe River in the Black Mountains, a place where her love of nature and future career as an environmental advocate — guided by the central tenets of equity and inclusivity — was forged.
Sam currently serves on the Raleigh Stormwater Advisory Commission.
Sam can be reached at samantha@soundrivers.org.
Katey Zimmerman
Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper
“Growing up, I always said that I wanted a career where I could make a difference, make an impact, and I’ve always had a love for the environment. The reason this is what I want to do is because I truly care about protecting the rivers and all of their natural resources, and sustainability as a whole.”
Katey Zimmerman graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in sustainability and coastal resilience from Coastal Carolina University in Sound Carolina. Her background includes running the Swim Guide program for the Waccamaw Riverkeeper and coordinating outreach events, teaching children and adults about the watershed and how to protect it.
Originally from Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia, Katey was drawn to Coastal Carolina University’s outstanding marine sciences program. After taking a sustainability class as a freshman, her interest shifted, and when Coastal Carolina added a sustainability major the following year, her major did too. But it was when she began working with the Waccamaw Riverkeeper that she truly found her calling.
Katey can be reached at katey@soundrivers.org.
Kayak-Canoe Raffle Rules and Conditions
March 21, 2023
Kayak-Canoe Raffle Rules and Conditions
Sound Rivers, Inc
Official Kayak/Canoe Raffle Rules
September – October 2016
Raffle Item: Wood kayak/canoe handcrafted by Ed Rhine
Benefitting: Sound Rivers
Price of raffle ticket: $20.00
Odds of winning: Odds of winning depends upon the number of raffle tickets sold. No more than 500 raffle tickets will be sold.
Expected Drawing Date: October 22, 2016
Method by which the winners will be determined and the raffle will be conducted:
The drawing for the kayak-canoe is planned to occur at the Washington NC Dragon Boat event on October 22 following conclusion of the races, unless insufficient number of tickets have been sold. Winners need not be present to win. The winner will be determined by a random drawing of stubs from purchased tickets. If not present at the time of the drawing, the winner will be notified via contact information supplied during ticket purchase. The kayak/canoe is provided without warranty and will be available for pick-up in Washington, NC or Chocowinity, NC. Prize winner will be responsible for all applicable shipping costs if shipment is desired.
Must be 18 years or older to purchase raffle tickets or claim raffle prize.
Contingency plan for the raffle if drawing is not conducted as planned:
If the Dragon Boat event on October 22, 2016 is cancelled for any reason, or the raffle cannot be conducted on that date as planned, the raffle will be completed on the next available business day at noon in Sound Rivers’ offices. If the Sound Rivers offices are not available due to some misfortune, another location in Washington, NC will be selected and the drawing held their on the first available business day following October 22, 2016.
If fewer than 250 tickets have been sold by October 22, 2016, drawing may be postponed for up to one month. If the drawing is delayed, drawing will be held in the Sound Rivers’ offices or other suitable location in Washington, NC or Chocowinity, NC at a time and date to be communicated at least 48 hours in advance on the Sound Rivers website and Facebook page.
No cash equivalent available:
No cash equivalent is available in lieu of the kayak/canoe. If the kayak/canoe has been damaged or destroyed before the drawing or prior to pick-up by or shipment to the winner, the winner will be entitled to a cash settlement of $1,500.
Redemption Claim period:
Winner will have thirty (30) days from the notification of winning to confirm his/her address and his/her acceptance of the prize. If we are unable to contact winner within thirty (30) days from the drawing date of the raffle, or if the selected winner declines acceptance of the prize, an alternate winner will be chosen from the remaining entries.
If arrangements to pick up the prize or to have it shipped at the prizewinner’s expense cannot be made with the winner within sixty (60) days of the drawing, Sound Rivers shall conduct another drawing using the original pool of ticket entries. This process will be repeated until a winner is located and the prize accepted.
Statement of eligibility, release of liability and publicity release required:
As a condition of being awarded the prize, winner will be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility, liability waiver and sign a publicity release. If the winner is unwilling to sign the affidavit, the winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be drawn from remaining entries.
Refund Policy:
No ticket refunds will be given.
Effective date of these rules: August 31, 2016
Ticket purchase locations:
Tickets are available at Cotton Patch Landing, 2018 Cotton Patch Rd, Chocowinity, NC 27817 and in the Sound Rivers, Inc. office at 108 Gladden St., Washington, NC 27889. Additional raffle ticket outlets may be added.
Tickets are also being sold by various individuals working to SAVE BLOUNTS CREEK.
More pictures showing construction of the kayak/canoe and information about the threat to Blounts Creek are available at www.facebook.com/saveblountscreeknc and at www.soundrivers.org.
Pamlico Paddle
March 21, 2023
They’re back …
Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Jill Howell and Environmental Projects Coordinator Clay Barber headed out Oct. 17 on another epic paddling adventure, this time, a five-day, 70-mile kayaking trip down the Pamlico River.
Sound Rivers staff and volunteers gathered at Havens Garden in Washington on Sunday for a land-based cleanup on the shores of the Pamlico and nearby creeks, followed by a send off of our intrepid paddlers from the Havens Garden boat ramp on Runyon Creek.
Jill and Clay are taking up where they left off on last October’s Tour de Tar, a 10-day trip from Oxford to Washington, paddling from Havens Garden in Washington to the public boat ramp in Swan Quarter. You can follow Clay, Jill and Jill’s first mate, Miller, (also known as the Adventure Pup) and their adventures here, or at @soundriversnc Facebook and Instagram.
Click on the links below to see what Jill, Clay and the Adventure Pup, Miller, have been up to!
| Thank you, sponsors, for you generous support! |
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 | Betsy & Joe Hester Rick Zablocki Linda Boyer |  |
BY SUPPORTING JILL AND CLAY’S PAMLICO PADDLE, YOU’RE SUPPORTING THEIR WORK ALL YEAR LONG!
Protect our wetlands
March 21, 2023
Protect our wetlands
NCDEQ SEEKS COMMENTS FOR TEMPORARY WETLANDS RULES
In April 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a new rule eliminating federal oversight for millions of acres of wetlands and small streams. The Southern Environmental Law Center has estimated the rule resulted in a loss of federal protections for roughly 900,000 acres in the Cape Fear and Neuse river basins alone — much larger across the Coastal Plain as a whole, or statewide.
North Carolina has already lost more than 50% of our wetlands and those that remain are vital for absorbing stormwater and preventing flooding downstream, among the many other benefits they provide. READ MORE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS HERE!
This month, the NC Environmental Management Commission (EMC) has proposed a new rule that would establish a state permitting program to protect our wetlands and manage flooding in our communities. Help us show the EMC that North Carolinians support protecting our wetlands by sending a letter today!
Wetlands and small streams play a critical role in filtering harmful pollution, protecting drinking water, sustaining our wildlife, and reducing flooding downstream. The proposal by the EMC fills a critical permitting gap created by the rollbacks of federal wetland protections.
Sound Rivers documentary explores past, present and future
March 21, 2023
Sound Rivers documentary explores past, present and future
Sound Rivers’ documentary premieres in the fall
We’re taking Sound Rivers’ story to the big screen!
Of the several projects currently underway to highlight Sound Rivers’ past 40 years of advocacy and education, one will tell its story visually, from its founding by two separate organizations to its work moving forward, through the voices of our storytellers: founders and partners, those fighting for clean water and the next generations of environmental advocacy.
Interweaving the common thread of community activism through the organization’s past, present and future, the documentary will unite viewers of all demographics in a common purpose: to be a part of the change.
Tackling this project is Washington native and filmmaker Rain Bennett, who has a mission to inspire people of all ages.
“I hope to inspire action — specifically from the Millennial and Gen-Z generations. I am aiming at the hearts of younger eastern North Carolina locals to take up the fight Sound Rivers began four decades ago,” Bennett said.
After several months of honing the narrative and recruiting our storytellers and experts to provide background and the science behind issues, Bennett began filming on March 31 with interviews of Dick and Becky Leach (instrumental in founding Pamlico-Tar River Foundation) and Doris Stith (community activist, who experienced the historical flooding of Princeville during Hurricane Floyd in 1999). He wrapped up filming on Aug. 13, with some amazing aerial footage of Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Jill Howell patrolling the Tar River.
“I honestly had no idea all the work Sound Rivers had done over the past 40 years. In my preliminary research, I’ve become so aware of the challenges they face — and that we all face — and the importance of their mission,” Bennett said. “To create this documentary means I get to do what I love, to help protect a place I love and fight for the people whom I love. I am forever grateful for that.”
In October, Sound Rivers will premiere the film during a virtual event. Stay tuned for details!
Be on the lookout for a sneak-peek: a trailer for the Sound Rivers’ 40th-anniversary documentary will be released soon!
Gift Membership
March 21, 2023
Gift the Gift of Clean Water
Looking for the perfect gift? Gift a Sound Rivers membership to your loved one! Your gift recipient will:
- Receive a card letting them know you made a gift of clean water in their name, and a Sound Rivers sticker
- Begin receiving our quarterly newsletter, Currents
- Be recognized by name in our Annual Report.
Use the link below to make a special gift membership!
Please note: Fill out the first part of the contact information on the form with YOUR contact information to ensure proper credit card processing, and the enter your gift recipient’s information below in the fields indicated. If you would like to remain anonymous (and not let the gift recipient know you are the giver) please indicate that in the “comments” field.
[imic_button colour=”btn-primary” type=”enabled” link=”https://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_acc3f62f-8928-11e9-9f3d-0aa640fb8062&WidgetId=10568704″ target=”_blank” extraclass=”” size=””]Give the gift of clean water here![/imic_button]
Want to give a gift membership but would rather make your purchase via mail? Send your check to Sound Rivers, PO Box 15451, New Bern, NC 28561, and include your gift recipient’s name and address.
NC Pipeline Watch
March 21, 2023
Update:
North Carolina Pipeline Watch (NCPW) Mapping System
Alleghany Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA) and their Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative (CSI) program has built a new mapping system showing the path of the pipeline that allows us to target pipeline crossings at streams and wetland crossings for monitoring locations.
Background
Since the proposal of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), Sound Rivers has been working to oppose this project as it threatens the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems, and will only further entrench extractive energy industries.
One of the many strategies Sound Rivers has pursued in our opposition to the pipeline is the development of North Carolina Pipeline Watch (NCPW), a community training and monitoring program. NCPW was formed by Sound Rivers in coordination with the Sierra Club, Winyah Rivers Foundation, and Cape Fear River Watch. When construction on the ACP began in North Carolina in 2018, Sound Rivers worked to mobilize and train volunteers through NCPW to monitor construction activities, create infrastructure to collect field reports, and have regional experts bring those issues to the agencies for enforcement. These activities were meant to encourage community members to take action, identify illegal construction practices (e.g., sediment and erosion control violations) detrimental to the health of our waterways, and ultimately stop the construction of the pipeline.
Pipeline construction has been stalled since December 2018 because eight federal and state permits have been vacated by the courts; decisions that the ACP partners are vigorously attacking. Additionally, the fate of the pipeline ultimately hinges on a case heard in the Supreme Court this past February as well as efforts by energy companies’ lobby for federal rule changes in their favor. To date, 6% of the pipeline has been constructed and we fully anticipate that construction could restart in North Carolina in 2020 with the reissuance of a biological opinion by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The ACP partners have prioritized construction in North Carolina once legal hurdles have been cleared.
Sound Rivers paused trainings for NCPW when construction was put on hold over a year ago. Due to the recent Supreme Court hearing and in anticipation of the reissuance of the biological opinion, Sound Rivers and a number of other community and environmental groups including Winyah Rivers Foundation, Cape Fear Riverwatch, Sierra Club, Blue Ridge Alleghany Alliance, and Appalachian Voices have mobilized to re-start NCPW.
Given the current situation around COVID-19, Sound Rivers and our NCPW partners are working on how to make this program, which is centered around engaging with and training volunteers, possible for when construction does resume. We will continue to provide updates on the status of ACP construction and opportunities to be involved in monitoring efforts.
Blue Living Tips
March 21, 2023
We understand the impact that a changing climate is having on our daily lives. The problem seems overwhelming. But there are many things we can do individually that together will make a difference. See some of the tips below. If you have a tip to share, please email it to info@soundrivers.org.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle: Yep, that still works!
- Use water more efficiently: Less water, less energy to pump to your home.
- Commit to eating more plants and less meat: Livestock contribute 14.5% of global emissions. You can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions by eating less meat, choosing local foods when possible and buying food with less packaging.
- Install a smart thermometer and other ways to reduce energy use at home
- Plant more trees and/or support groups who do
- Vote! Check out resources like vote411.org
- Be active in your community and find ways to support youth led movements
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” the Lorax (Dr. Suess)
In-Kind Support
March 21, 2023
Support Clean Water With Your Equipment or Silent Auction Gift
Sound Rivers accepts a variety of in-kind donations!
Our current organization-wide needs include:
- Boats of all types
- PFDs, paddles, other paddling supplies
Sound Rivers is also collecting items for our Oyster Roast Silent Auction in November 2020!
Some examples of popular donated items include:
- Visual art (paintings, framed nature photographs, etc.)
- Services (spa packages, etc.)
- Vacation Packages (from a one-night stay to a week-long rental!)
- River Related Activities and Entertainment (river cruises, fishing trips, etc.)
- And more!
Have something to contribute? Contact us with this form – please describe your item in the comments – and we’ll get back to you asap! Any donated items are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.