Mike Huffman, City of Hendersonville’s Stormwater Administrator
By Emma Castleberry
Community Foundation of Henderson County has awarded a grant totaling $28,700 to the environmental nonprofit RiverLink to help implement its “Connecting the Community with Mud Creek” project. The project expands RiverLink’s stewardship of the French Broad Paddle Trail to the section of Mud Creek between Hendersonville and the confluence with the French Broad River. The organization will use volunteers and staff to remove trash and select woody vegetation on the stretch of river, allowing for safer and more comfortable recreation by paddlers and anglers.
“While base flows and water levels sustain the ability to paddle year-round on Mud Creek, excessive woody debris prevents safe passage, and garbage tarnishes the scenery,” says Jack Henderson, land resources manager for RiverLink. “Managing both of these will allow users to travel the waterway by boat without as many obstacles and improve the experience by seeing less trash.”
The funding will also support RiverLink’s master plan for recreational access to Mud Creek, which will be completed in December of 2022. The plan will include an inventory of currently existing access sites for Mud Creek and detailed suggestions for improving access at these sites, as well as other potential parcels where boating access could be established.
Finally, the grant will support the expansion of RiverLink’s “Name That Creek” program, which connects communities with local unnamed streams through naming campaigns, into Henderson County. “RiverLink will be working with the Green Meadows Community to collect potential names, take a vote and select a winning name for the unnamed tributary of Mud Creek running through Sullivan Park,” says Henderson. “RiverLink will then work with the US Board of Geographic Names to make the naming official, place signage at Sullivan Park and host a community celebration.”
“Protecting the beautiful lands and waterways of where we call home is a pillar of Community Foundation of Henderson County’s charitable work,” says McCray V. Benson, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “For 40 years, Community Foundation donors have supported local conservation efforts and it is because of them that we are able to award a grant to this special project in Hendersonville’s backyard. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that RiverLink’s project will have on Mud Creek and our community.”
To learn more, visit RiverLink.org and CFHCForever.org.
