Just after the Revolutionary War, the first white settlers came into a French Broad River Valley filled with vast seas of river cane. River cane is the only native bamboo in this area. It has slender stems and tenacious roots that can grow to a depth of 3 feet.
Just years later, in April of 1791, a great flood turned the Swannanoa Valley into a “sea of turbulent fury” that rose to a level just a bit lower than the recent flood from Helene. Undoubtedly, there was a great deal of erosion during the 1791 flood, but river cane and the other lush native plants would have slowed the floodwater and trapped sediment, while the root mass would have held together streambanks that were actively eroding.
Many stream names, such as Cane Creek, remind us of this plant’s historical prominence; however, only 2% of the once vast river cane groves remain today. This once lush natural line of defense for stream erosion is gone. Sediment from erosion is the No. 1 pollutant in our rivers and streams.
Stream buffers are areas of vegetation next to streams that reduce erosion, trap sediment, provide habitat for wildlife and fish, and moderate the stream water temperature for aquatic wildlife. The stems and roots of all the plants work together to protect the land on which they grow. The wider the buffers, the larger the benefits.
In Helene’s wake, it is clear that our streambanks are unprotected. Before the storm, our stream buffers’ quality and quantity were sketchy. Now, vast stretches of streambank have been completely denuded of any protective vegetation.
No one program will fill the huge need we have to protect our waters. Agencies like RiverLink, soil and water departments, and MountainTrue offer streambank restoration services, but much bigger efforts are needed. We must develop nurseries for plants such as silky willow, silky dogwood, black willow, ninebark, elderberry and buttonbush. These plants can be trimmed annually, and their live stakes can be poked into streambanks. River bottom land will need to be acquired and leased for these nurseries. These efforts will take years, if not decades.
But there is no need to wait for a master plan. If you own land that is wet, you can start planting and propagating the native plant species that have protected our waterways for millennia.
Outdoor enthusiasts and beer companies come to Western North Carolina because of the great water quality provided by our mountain vegetation. Now is the time to protect this precious resource by investing in our natural infrastructure. We can build back better!
— Tom Burnet
Hydrologist
West Asheville
