Who Will Protect the Land Along the Yadkin River?

 Scenic Tuckertown Lake along the Yadkin River just below the High Rock Dam

Since DENR revoked Alcoa’s 401 Water Certification in early Dec. the ability of Alcoa to relicense their four dams appears more in question than ever. Alcoa’s own internal e-mails showed that there are still problems with a shortage of dissolved oxygen below their dams since their power producing turbines are fed water from deep intakes near the bottom of their dams. The lack of dissolved oxygen can stunt and damage the growth of fish and other aquatic species. (Alcoa states that they have been working to resolve this problem.)

Also more than ever Alcoa’s scenic shoreline, uplands and ridgeline properties of approximately 16,000 acres along thirty-eight miles of the Yadkin River are now in great jeopardy of eventually being developed. It appears unlikely that the State of NC will be able to acquire Alcoa’s dams at the super bargain price some have mentioned. If the four Alcoa dams are captured by the State of NC the state will be hard pressed to find sufficient funds. If sufficient funds are found in this recession environment for the four dams what will happen to Alcoa’s land. Will Morrow Mountain State Park not acquire the Falls Reservoir property around to the Hardaway Site? Will Alcoa eventually sell their land to the highest bidder? Will the scenic lands around Tuckertown Lake and the Falls Reservoir be significantly developed within twenty years?

Many pro-Alcoa folks around Badin have long argued that the blockage to Alcoa’s relicensing was partially fueled by regional power brokers who in the long term wanted access to Alcoa’s 16,000 acres for development. (Certainly there are many other reasons elaborated by the Yadkin Riverkeeper and others in Stanly County who want to make cheaper electricity available to attract new businesses to the region.)

Regardless of anyone’s good or bad intentions no major player appears to be engaged anymore about how to preserve and protect Alcoa’s approximately 16,000 acres. In my last post just below I describe the very important land conservation agreement worked out in 2007 by DENR, the Land Trust for Central NC and Alcoa. That agreement will disappear if NC captures Alcoa’s dams.

While the battle intensifies over Alcoa’s relicensing who is sufficiently concerned with the long term purchase and conservation of some of the most scenic, pristine and important land in NC? There is far more to this ongoing battle than just the dams and the water.

Alcoa's Land Protection Plan Along the Yadkin River

View of Falls Reservoir land to be gifted by Alcoa

As the validity of Alcoa’s 401 Water Quality Certificate, that was issued in 2009 by NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is being reviewed in the court room of Administrative Law Judge Joe Webster it is important to revisit Alcoa’s Relicensing Agreement for long-term land protection.

The fight over Alcoa’s relicensing of its four Yadkin River hydroelectric dams continues and the outcome is not certain. However, most everyone wants Alcoa to take full responsibility for cleaning up all pollution created by their Badin aluminum smelting plant. It is essential that NCDENR and the EPA press Alcoa and make sure that Alcoa does all that is environmentally necessary. It is also important for the State of NC to clarify the many water rights issues that involve Alcoa and other corporations like Duke Energy and Progress Energy. Ultimately the water in the rivers of NC belongs to the people of NC.

Many who have been involved with important land conservation efforts in the state remain supportive of Alcoa’s relicensing because of Alcoa’s commitment, if their license is renewed, to help preserve around 6,000 acres of land along the Yadkin River. The most important piece of Alcoa’s land protection agreement is the 1,085 acres they have agreed to gift to Morrow Mt. State Park. This would include their pristine property that runs along the entire length of the secluded Falls Reservoir (already protected on the east side by the Uwharrie National Forest) from Morrow Mt. State Park and also includes the ancient Paleo-Indian Hardaway Site. The long-term protection of this important 1,085 acre tract for the state must be accomplished for many environmental, historic, geological, archeological and eco-tourism reasons.

Other parts of Alcoa’s land protection agreement include their gifting a 270 acre expansion of the Uwharrie National Forest, a 63 acre gift for Eagle Point Nature Preserve in Rowan County and a gift of 14 acres around the Badin Public Recreation Area in Stanly County. So Alcoa has agreed to gift over 1,400 acres along the Yadkin River as part of its relicensing agreement. In addition to those important land gifts Alcoa has also agreed to sale 2,310 acres of land around High Rock Lake and 2,420 acres along Tuckertown Lake to the state of NC for recreation, gamelands and land conservation. The price for these 4,730 basically shoreline aces is $16.2 million or around $3425 per acre. This important land preservation agreement was worked out with the stakeholders and was one of the main reasons they agreed to support Alcoa’s relicensing. It appears that NCDENR with the guidance of Bill Ross and the Land Trust of Central NC were the key players in helping to insure the long-term protection of this approximate 6,000 acres. After this land conservation agreement was announced several years ago Jason Walser, the executive director of the Land Trust of Central NC said: “This agreement represents one of the largest and most important conservation opportunities we have seen in the Southern Piedmont in a generation. We may never see another conservation opportunity of this scale again. What’s truly significant is the quality of the land being offered by Alcoa. The waterfront land possesses incredible ecological value, and nearly all of the proposed land will be available to the public for recreation or hunting.”

The following 23 organizations have expressed support of a new license for Alcoa through their signatures on the formal Relicensing Settlement Agreement for the Yadkin Project.

Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (Alcoa-Yadkin)

American Rivers

Badin Lake Association

Badin Historic Museum

Catawba Indian Nation

City of Albemarle, NC

High Rock Business Owners Group

High Rock Lake Association

Land Trust for Central North Carolina

Montgomery County, NC

The Nature Conservancy (S.C. Chapter)

N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources *

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Pee Dee River Coalition

Piedmont Boat Club

Rowan County, NC

Salisbury/Rowan Association of Realtors

S.C. Coastal Conservation League

S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control

S.C. Department of Natural Resources

Town of Badin, NC

U.S. Forest Service

Uwharrie Point Community Association

_________________________

As a fairly new resident near Morrow Mt. State Park, as the recent chair of the Guilford County Open Space Committee and as an active supporter of the emerging Haw River State Park I tried my best to describe the above story about Alcoa’s commitment to long-term land protection around the Yadkin River. There are certainly other facts that need to be added to make this story complete. I am aware that other important groups like the Stanly County Commissioners and the Yadkin Riverkeeper oppose the relicensing of Alcoa’s four dams on the Yadkin River. However, for those of us committed to long-term land preservation in NC this is a very unique opportunity that cannot be taken lightly. These 6,000 acres along the Yadkin River are truly extraordinary in every way. I for one hope that the fight over Alcoa’s relicensing does not jeopardize the preservation of this land.

Wildflowers in the Uwharries

Yesterday a lot of wildflowers were popping out from their long winter's rest.  Just off the parking lot at the Tot Hill Trailhead for the Birkhead Wilderness Area are lots of Blood Root wildflowers.

          Blood Root

Blood Root Flower

Near the banks of the Uwharrie River at Burney Mill Rd. are blooming Trout Lillies and stunning Trillium Cuneatum wildflowers also called Sweet Betsy or Wake Robin.

                                                              

Trout Lillies

      Wake Robin

Jumping Off Rock in the Uwharrie National Forest

An early spring Mourning Cloak butterfly along the trail.

The northern most “official” section of the Uwharrie Trail begins at the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead. It then runs south for 19 miles to the 24/27 Trailhead that is about 2 miles east of River Rd. on Hwy 24/27. The popular Uwharrie Trail is well marked with white blazes along its many rocky curves, ridges, peaks and valleys.

To get to the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead you turn onto Orphir Rd. off of Hwy 109 in the crossroad community of Uwharrie and head about 5 miles. You will come to Ant Hill Rd. or the road's other name, Flint Hill Rd. If you take that right onto Ant Hill Rd. and go about 2 miles you will see a small parking lot with a rail fence on your right that is the trailhead.

Jumping Off Rock Outcrop

(to enlarge any picture click on the photo)

Barnes Creek below Jumping Off Rock

To find the actual Jumping Off Rock outcrop go about a quarter mile east of the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead on Ant Hill Rd. and you will notice a pull off area on your left that holds a couple of cars. The outcrop juts out about 40 feet above Barnes Creek.

                                                                              

Barnes Creek (last two photos) from across the street from the pull-off for Jumping Off Rock.

Tuckertown Lake and Bringle Ferry Rd.

High Rock Dam

I was heading today to High Pines Church Rd. near Fiddler’s Creek Rd. in the Uwharrie National Forest to see if I could locate the 290 acre Birkhead property that has been preserved by the Land Trust of Central NC. But I got sidetracked and spent the afternoon wondering around Tuckertown Lake, below the High Rock Lake Dam on the Yadkin River.


Hydro-electric turbine housing on dam

The Yadkin River is still plenty muddy from all of our heavy winter rains that caused significant flooding but I found a few areas where it’s beginning to clear. Often the muddy water from the western sections of the Yadkin gets filter-out in High Rock Lake or Tuckertown Lake while Badin and Tillery stay fairly clear but that sure didn’t happen this winter. Some locals say the water is the muddiest they have ever seen.

There is a short trail from a picnic and fishing area beside the Yadkin Bridge at Bringle Ferry Rd. up and around the High Rock Dam. You can get a real close-up view of the dam, the churning hydro-electric turbines, and a bird’s eye view of the Yadkin as it flows into its Tuckertown basin.


Yadkin/Tuckertown

Some interesting old homes are along and near to Lick Creek Church Rd. where residents took the Bringle Ferry across the Yadkin before there was a bridge and before the dam. Bringle Ferry Rd. runs off of Hwy 8 several miles north of Hwy 49 in the tiny community of Healing Springs in Davidson County.

(Clink on any photo on this blog to enlarge it)


A sitting stone gathers moss

Birkhead Wilderness Area, Tot Hill Trailhead

Rock outcrops on Coolers Knob

Intertwined beech roots

Talbotts Branch

I remain a homeowner in Greensboro and I am still very active with the Guilford County Open Space Committee but I am spending most of my time in the beautiful Uwharrie National Forest, Morrow Mt. State Park and around the eastern end of the Yadkin River that merges with the Uwharrie River to become the Pee Dee. Fishing and hiking in this region are exceptional and I plan many posts about the attractions, activities and history of this special region of NC.

One of the closest Uwharrie National Forest areas to Greensboro is in Randolph County just outside of Asheboro in the Birkhead Wilderness Area.

To find the Birkhead Wilderness, Tot Hill Trailhead that is part of the Uwharrie National Forest drive down Hwy 220/I-73 South out of Greensboro about 23 miles into Asheboro and take the Hwy 64/Hwy 49 exit off of Hwy 220/I-73. Turn right and head away from Asheboro down Hwy. 49 South (Hwy 64 branches off to the right) for about 6 miles and turn left onto Tot Hill Farm Rd. (You will see a Birkhead Wilderness sign for the Tot Hill Trailhead and another sign directing you to Lassiter Mill Rd. and other Birkhead trailheads.) Go about 2 miles (passing the golf course on your right) and you will see on your right the Tot Hill Trailhead with its small gravel parking lot.

A delightful hike of just over a mile that follows the main white blazed trail takes you along Talbotts Branch and up to the top of Coolers Knob Mountain that is one of the higher Uwharrie peaks at 935 feet.