WATR Column
Watershed Activities Thoroughly ReviewedNovember 2006 – May 2019
Baughn leads opposition to fracking in western North Carolina
Hayesville Mayor Harry Baughn is a happy leprechaun of N.C. politics who has an inner layer of iron.
Tribe readies energy innovations and solves site-prep
The Minneapolis-based design firm Cunningham Group Associates described the environmental features coming at the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino.
Buffeted by change
Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition keeps its keel squarely in the main current of water quality issues and sets new goals for its future
Eastern Band’s environmental commitment is tested during two decades of casino-gaming start-ups
There’s plenty to cry about here where the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is constructing the $109 million Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino
More vehicles and an idyllic scholarly village– will they mix well?
Will a wider SR 515 pierce the heart of that scenic village and also roughly abut Young Harris College? Or will an enhanced roadway bypass all and go around the north side, crossing Brasstown Creek in the process?
The Humans rule at Shewbird, but granite winning at Snowbird, Ocoee Gorge
Recent developments cannot be good news for Cement Roadstone Holdings of Dublin, Ireland, owner of Hayesville Quarry on Shewbird Mountain.
Once in place, casino’s surprise benefit could be environmental
The Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino during the next couple of years will include the next mountaintop removal here in the Hiwassee River watershed.
Amid rock and fire, rugged men replace a 1940 bridge
A crew is proceeding with a $3.9 million contract from Georgia Dept. of Transportation to replace the 1940 bridge over Ivy Log Creek.
Western N.C. targeted for study of fracking feasibility and then the DENR relents
The list includes a rare mention of a site identified only as a precambrian rift basin in western N.C. The location was not specified.
Alternatives for private easement to Laurel Creek Property Owners’ inholding
The Laurel Creek Property Owners Association formed last decade when its members acquired a 1935 tract of 50 acres at the rim of the Valley River Mountains.