NORA River Cleanup - Progress Report

One Month In — 40,000 Pounds of Progress

In just one month, the NORA Cleanup Initiative has removed over 40,000 pounds of flood debris from local rivers, streams, and adjacent lands in Unicoi, Carter and Washington Counties. What started as a crisis response has become a powerful story of resilience, recovery, and community connection.

💼 Jobs Restored, Lives Uplifted

Thanks to early support from the East Tennessee Foundation, Mountain True, and Keeping the Valley Beautiful, we contracted three local outfitters—Osprey Whitewater, Wahoo’s Adventures, and The Eddyhopper Workshop—to oversee clean-up operations. Together, they’ve employed over a dozen skilled river guides who were out of work due to flood-related closures and economic disruption.

These are not volunteers. They are trained swiftwater rescue professionals, Wilderness First Responders, and veteran river guides who know these waters like the back of their hand. They’re leading missions that require rafts, winches, trailers, and often sheer muscle to haul massive, flood-borne debris off riverbanks and out of rapids.

🧹 More Than Just Cleanup

Along the way, our teams have met local landowners whose homes and properties were devastated by the storm. They’ve listened to stories of survival—of families rescued from their roof tops via helicopter and returned safely, of lives changed in a single day—and they’ve pitched in to remove large-scale debris from private land as part of a compassionate, boots-on-the-ground recovery mission.

This is about more than river access. It's about restoring dignity, protecting health, and helping people move forward.

💡 Why We Still Need Your Help

What we’ve accomplished so far has only been possible because of early donations and grant support. But there’s still months of work ahead. Miles of river yet to be cleared. Dangerous debris still submerged. And more jobs we can create for guides and laborers—if the funding continues.

Whether you’re able to give $20, $200, or $2,000—every donation keeps our boats in the water and our crews on the job.

👉 Donate now:https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/nolichucky-clean-up-and-access-fund

Larger tax-deductible donations can also be mailed to:

Mountain True

29 N. Market Street | Suite 610 | Asheville, NC 28801

(Please write “NORA” in the memo line to earmark the funds for the Nolichucky)

Let’s keep this momentum going—for the rivers, for the people, and for the future.