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When Rivers Rise: Lessons from Hurricane Helene

When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in 2023, it caught everyone off guard with its ferocity. Record-breaking rainfall and sudden, deadly flooding overwhelmed communities across the region.

As I stood on the banks of the Swannanoa River in Biltmore Village, I watched everything I had spent two decades fighting for wash away. Gas pooled in the eddies. Homes and businesses floated past; dreams, memories, and hard work were reduced to debris. I watched the river I had devoted my life to protecting turn brown with ruin.

In that moment, I realized how much our preparedness, infrastructure, and collective response shape whether a disaster becomes a tragedy or a turning point.

Personal Loss, Community Response

As a homeowner, I understood the heartbreak of losing a place that shelters your family and holds your history. As a business owner, I knew the sleepless nights and sweat poured into every small enterprise that washed away. And as a Riverkeeper who’s spent thousands of hours taking water samples, organizing cleanups, and tracking down pollution sources, I was devastated to see all our progress erased overnight.

At first, I thought we were unlucky at MountainTrue. Our five Riverkeepers (Broad Riverkeeper, French Broad Riverkeeper, Green Riverkeeper, Upper New Riverkeeper, and Watauga Riverkeeper) all live and work in the watersheds hardest hit by Helene. We were all dealing with own wreckage and it was overwhelming. But, what I first saw as a liability turned out to be our greatest asset. We had people on the ground in every devastated community. People who knew how to test wells, sample water, clean up debris, and connect with families in need.

Taking Action

The first days were chaotic. Everywhere you turned, there was something on fire, literally and figuratively. It felt impossible to know where to start. Then, while unloading a semi-truck of bottled water, I stumbled upon a relief center run not by the city, but by a patchwork of nonprofits, local leaders, and volunteers from across the country. That’s when it hit me: we didn’t need a master plan; we just needed to act.

Before we were “ready” and before anyone gave us permission, we started cleaning up. The City of Asheville even told us not to touch the rivers within city limits. We politely told them this was our life’s work, and we’d be out there doing what Waterkeepers do. Our first volunteer cleanup drew an overwhelming turnout. The community was hungry to help. We quickly realized we didn’t have enough staff to meet the demand, so we created a new position just to coordinate volunteers. Then we went to our state legislators and told our story: we were the only group willing and able to do this work, and it mattered. They listened.

Recovery and Growth

We came home with $10 million in state funding for river cleanup. Since then, we’ve hired more than 80 people, created nine teams across Western North Carolina, and hauled out over four million pounds of trash. Every week, we’re removing about 10,000 more.

But the numbers only tell part of the story. This work isn’t just about cleaning a river — it’s about restoring dignity, purpose, and hope for people who lost everything. Before the storm, I was a fighter. If someone polluted my river, I came at them with everything I had. Helene changed me. It taught me empathy. Most people aren’t trying to harm the river. They’re just trying to feed their families, rebuild their homes, and survive.

Lessons Learned

This storm broke everyone in my community to some degree, but in many cases, it left something better or stronger behind. It taught me to look past what divides us, focus on what unites us, and take action together. At the recent North America Regional Summit, we shared lessons learned with fellow Waterkeepers, paying forward the hard-earned knowledge and experience to help others protect their communities and waters.

Helene taught me how quickly everything can wash away, and how, even in the fiercest storms, we are strongest when we face it together.

This guest blog was written by Hartwell Carson, Clean Water Director for MountainTrue and former French Broad Riverkeeper in Asheville, North Carolina. Visit MountTrue’s website to learn more about their work and ongoing recovery efforts. MountainTrue also supports fellow Waterkeepers in Africa by building wells and installing water filters, bringing clean water to communities that need it most. To learn more, visit Clean Water Africa and check out their online auction. 100% of the proceeds go to clean water projects in Uganda and Kenya.

All photos used in the blog are courtesy of Hartwell Carson.

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Boat owners take note: Humboldt Bay’s only marine fueling dock will be closed Jan. 1-16

Eureka-owned facility, operated by Englund Marine, will be installing and plumbing a new above-ground tank in accordance with new state regulations

The city of Eureka announced last weekend that the city-owned Marine Fueling Facility at 2 Commercial Street would be temporarily closed as the city works to come into compliance with new state regulations. The facility, which is the only commercial refueling dock between Fort Bragg and Crescent City, is scheduled to be closed from Jan. 1-16.

“During the closure, the facility will transition from underground to an aboveground tank, as mandated by the State of California,” a notice issued by the city last Friday read. “Anyone in need of unleaded or diesel fuel from this location should top off their tanks before December 31.”

According to Eureka’s engineering department, the site is prepped and ready for the installation of a compliant aboveground tank as soon as possible; the city is waiting on the item due to high manufacturing demand.

“There is a high demand for the aboveground tanks, causing long lead times on manufacturing. At this point, we are waiting for the tank to be completed and delivered,” Engineering Project Manager Brittany Powell told the Times-Standard via email Friday. “The January 1-16 dates were the best estimate based on delivery time.”

Updates to the project will be available at https://www.eurekaca.gov/744/Current-Projects.

Reflections from a New California Coastal Commissioner

Public access to the beach is so deeply tied to who we are as Californians that it’s hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t guaranteed. When developers once tried to fence off parts of the coast, Californians pushed back and built the strongest coastal protections in the nation.

Proposition 20—the “People’s Initiative” of 1972, which created the California Coastal Commission—was a defining moment in shaping how we protect our coastline. It cemented California’s identity as a state that values open beaches, thriving wildlife and responsible development. Keeping our coast accessible to everyone while balancing preservation and progress remains one of our greatest challenges.

Before my appointment to the Coastal Commission, I had no idea how much work went into defending those protections every single day. As a city official in a beach town, I often heard people grumble about the commission. But after seeing the work up close, I have realized that most frustrations come from not fully understanding what the agency actually does.

LOCAL CONTROL MATTERS

The Coastal Commission is not a faraway bureaucracy calling all the shots. About 80% of coastal development permits are handled locally by cities and counties that know their communities best. The process can feel slow (we’re always looking for efficiencies), but that is what ensures decisions are fair, transparent and consistent up and down the coast.

PUBLIC ACCESS IS EVERYTHING

Having grown up in Florida, I have seen how quickly beaches can become off-limits once private interests move in. In California, the commission’s enforcement team works tirelessly to keep our beaches open to all. It investigates complaints, takes legal action when needed and protects everyone’s right to enjoy the ocean, especially people from inland communities who might otherwise be left out.

COASTAL EROSION IS REAL

Anyone who spends time on the coast can see it: Our beaches are shrinking. Through sand replenishment, dune restoration and other nature-based projects, the commission helps local governments slow erosion and plan ahead. Millions of dollars in grants support research on where shoreline armoring makes sense and where retreat might allow beaches to move inland as sea levels rise.

These efforts are not just about policy; they are about protecting what makes California, California. Our ocean-based economy brings in more than $40 billion a year, and that success did not happen by accident. It is the result of generations who believed our coastline should remain public and protected.

Serving on the Coastal Commission has given me a new appreciation for that legacy. Protecting our coast is not just environmental policy; it is a promise to future generations. In California, the beach belongs to everyone. Keeping it that way will always be worth the effort.

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Trump halts East Coast projects in latest blow against wind power

The Trump administration announced an immediate pause on the leases for five large-scale offshore wind farms off the East Coast. The Interior Department provided few details, but said the Pentagon believed the turbines could obscure and confuse radar signals. It's the latest move by the White House taking aim at wind power. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien has been tracking these projects.

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(VIDEO) A Pod of Orcas Visited Humboldt Bay Last Saturday!

Local naturalist Rob Fowler caught a pretty spectacular sight on Humboldt Bay this afternoon. He was able to grab some video of it, and he was kind enough to share that video with us.

Here, let him tell the story:

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And a quick update: Rob Fowler, local naturalist and orca-sighter, forwards us some correspondence he had with Alisa Schulman-Janiger of the California Killer Whale Project over the weekend, in which Schulman-Janiger puts names to dorsal fins.