Western North Carolina is known for its many trout streams, which draw anglers from around the region and the country.  But development threatens these streams--increasing life-choking sediment and eliminating important shade trees that normally keep waters cool.  As a result, roughly 30% of trout habitat in North Carolina and Tennessee is now gone.

State officials recently granted new protections for Boylston Creek, an important trout stream in Western North Carolina.  Unfortunately, the state legislature voted this summer to delay these protections for a year.

Environment North Carolina is urging lawmakers to allow new protections for Boylston Creek to move forward as soon possible.  

Join Environment North Carolina.  Your support helps us advocate and win new protections for the North Fork First Broad River, the Horsepasture River, and critical trout streams like Boylston Creek. 

No matter where you are in North Carolina, you don't have to travel far to enjoy some of the nation's last, great rivers and streams, from the whitewater rapids of the mountains to the peaceful sounds of the coast.

But out-of-control development has put even the most pristine of these waters at risk. Twenty years ago, just over 2 million acres of North Carolina’s land was developed. Today, that number has nearly doubled, much of it close to our rivers. More paved surfaces carry polluted runoff (oil, dirt, fertilizer, and other pollutants) straight into our waterways.  And more development means more sewage, increasing pollution into our rivers, lakes and streams.

Environment North Carolina is working to protect the state's last, unspoiled waters in the face of unplanned growth.

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