History
The North Fork of the French Broad is finally having its outstanding values recognized. This was not without difficulty, though: the river has almost been lost to dams twice since the 1960s. It only remains a free-flowing river thanks to the concerted efforts of local residents across the decades.
A History of Local Action to Protect the French Broad
Advocacy from the Upper French Broad Advocacy Association in the 1960’s.
Local citizens, on the other hand, were not as impressed or convinced that the TVA’s project would bring the benefits they were claiming. Concerned about the homes and communities that would be lost as well as the impact the dams would have on the natural landscape, residents organized to form the Upper French Broad Defense Association (UFBDA).
Members of the UFBDA spread the word of the project and worked to generate opposition by distributing pamphlets, writing letters to lawmakers, and fundraising. One of the major successes of the campaign came when the UFBDA was able to generate bi-partisan support to elect Charles Taylor, a politician running on an anti-dam platform, to the North Carolina Legislature. Once elected, Taylor wrote an amendment into a state bill that required a public hearing be hosted prior to initiating any dam project in western NC, which the UFBDA capitalized on. At the meeting, which was held in 1971, the TVA tried to organize testimony and public comment so that only supporters of the project spoke while the media was present. The UFBDA, however, was one step ahead. Members wore yellow kerchiefs with “UFBDA” embroidered into them around their necks and filled the auditorium, creating an impressive visual display of the widespread opposition to the project.
Another stroke of luck for the UFBDA came with the passing of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969. The “dam fighters,” as they liked to call themselves, jumped on the opportunity and used NEPA to halt funding of the project until a detailed environmental impact statement (EIS) could be produced and reviewed.
With the UFBDA’s early successes and opposition continuing to mount, the TVA withdrew its proposal in 1972, stating that local support “no longer existed” for the project. A true David and Goliath moment, the UFBDA successfully defeated an institution that was always known for getting its way.
Areas that would be flooded by the reservoirs created by the proposed dams in the 1960’s
Areas that would be flooded by the reservoirs created by the proposed dams in the 1980’s
1960’s - 1970’s
In the early 1960s, the Western North Carolina Regional Planning Commission requested that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) create a water resources development plan for the region that would facilitate economic growth. In 1966, two years after a series of devastating floods wreaked havoc on the French Broad River basin, the TVA submitted a project proposal that included 14 dams, 74 miles of “channel improvements,” and a series of levees in Asheville.
Most of the dams were proposed for the headwaters of the French Broad, including the North Fork of the French Broad. The primary goal for the project was flood control, but the TVA also argued that the project would help improve downstream water quality, provide an industrial water supply, increase regional water recreation opportunities, and open land currently in the floodplain for development. The project was widely supported by all levels of government.
The public hearing, 1971.
1980’s - 1990’s
While the UFBDA came away with a resounding victory in the early 1970s, the war for the headwaters of the French Broad was not over. In the mid-1980s, once again after a series of damaging floods, the Transylvania County Board of Commissioners asked the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) and the Transylvania Soil and Water Conservation District to explore flood control options for the area.
In 1988, the SCS released an initial report that recommended 6 dams be built on rivers in the county, once again including on the North Fork of the French Broad. This project, although smaller than the one proposed two decades earlier by the TVA, was again largely opposed by local residents. This time around, the French Broad Headwaters Coalition was formed to organize the community in opposition of the dams.
During various public hearings about the project, citizens voiced concerns about the project’s impacts, including its displacement of families and destruction of the local ecosystem and productive trout streams. Some questioned the effectiveness of the dams for flood control, while others speculated the dams might also be an attempt by developers to make currently unusable land in the floodplain available for development.
The Coalition urged the county to explore alternative flood control measures to the dams. In April 1993, the Board of Commissioners listened to its constituents and voted to pursue alternative flood control options including flood-proofing buildings in the floodplain and establishing an early flood warning system for vulnerable communities. This was the first time in the state’s history that measures other than dams were used to control flooding.