​On Saturday, July 7, Mills River Partnership hosted our first annual ‘Litter Cleanup’ along Boylston Highway (Hwy 280). Seven dedicated environmental enthusiasts (aka volunteers) joined us in our efforts to keep Mills River clean.

Starting in front of Ingles, our group picked up trash for almost a mile (both ways!) - stretching from Davenport Bridge (over the Mills River) to the intersection of HWY 191 and 280 in two and a half hours.

The things we found were interesting -
From a dry $5 bill in wet grass to car parts and even a “manhole” opening up near Bojangles...

But to top it all off, two women stopped and gave the 7 year old volunteer some money for his help in keeping Mills River clean!

​Another successful Upper French Broad Riverfest is in the books!

The annual event hosted by Transylvania French Broad Stewards, Headwaters Outfitters, and the Town of Rosman offered over 40 vendors, talented stage performances, tasty food, and activities for all ages - paired with great weather!

This year, in addition to tabling at the event, Mills River Partnership also participated in the event’s Hellbender 20-mile Canoe Relay Race for the first time... and while we didn’t place in the top 3, we had a blast and our relay team of four paddled 20 miles in under 4 hours!

Three months after the ‘Backyard Stream Repair Workshop Pt. II’ in Mills River Village, Mills River Partnership returned (upstream) to repair additional parts of Brandy Branch. This tributary feeds directly into Mills River,

upstream of Mills River Park, and has been a waterway of concern for years. Increased development along this tributary has led to its degradation, and landowners are desperately searching for answers.

On March 16, Mills River Partnership (and various other entities - see below), came together to mitigate an erosion issue occurring along Brandy Branch that was encroaching a landowner’s property, and possibly even jeopardizing her home in the future.

Starting at 8:30am, more than 10 people volunteered to:

• Cut and carry heavy tree limbs
• Install coir logs
• Shovel sediment behind logs
• Stake down seed/straw/matting
• Install 300+ live stakes
• ...And be totally rad while doing it!

Volunteers included: Mills River and Hendersonville residents, Sierra Nevada Brewery staff, City of Hendersonville staff, Asheville Greenworks staff, and Mills River Partnership staff.

Special thanks to:
Dr. Greg Jennings (Jennings Environmental) - mastermind behind design
Mitch Woodward (NCSU Cooperative Ext.) - picked up donated North State materials and brought hand tools
Darrell Westmoreland (North State Environmental) - donated coir logs, eco-stakes, and matting
Alan Johnson (Hi-Lo Mountain Nursery) - provided beautiful live stakes
Shaun Moore (SM Soil and Water Solutions) - donated a few bare root trees
Hendersonville Water Treatment Plant - let us borrow hand tools
Sierra Nevada Brewery - harvested and donated some live stakes

This project was made possible through partnerships, donated materials, and hardworking volunteers.

We greatly appreciate all the time, effort, materials, and expertise that you all contributed to this project.

We cannot thank you all enough!


Much love, MRP

We are pleased to announce Mills River Partnership has received the Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant via Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)!

This grant, $730,000 invested by NRCS, will fund projects on the mainstem of the Mills River and Foster Creek, a direct tributary of the Mills. The goal is to help protect the source water for 85,000 people in the cities of Hendersonville and Asheville, who depend on the Mills River for their drinking water.

Projects for this grant, include:

• Living Web Farm partnering with Mills River Partnership and NRCS to completely restore a mile-long stretch of a deeply incised eroding streambank
• Henderson County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) assisting North River Farms in the design of an agrichemical handling facility along the mainstem of the Mills River
• And designing a sustainable cattle operation with Living Web Farms where bank sloping, riparian fencing, and off-channel watering tanks will be implemented

In addition to protecting drinking water, the project will improve degraded fish and wildlife habitat, help ensure future agricultural productivity, foster locally produced foods, and expand a unique on-farm educational forum promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Other contributing partners include U.S. Fish and Wildlife, City of Hendersonville and City of Asheville.

For more information on Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), visit their website. 

​https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/rcpp/

When the live stakes installed during the original ‘Backyard Stream Repair Workshop’ along Brandy Branch (in the housing development, Mills River Village) were washed out by heavy rains, we knew we had to do something better.

In partnership with the landowner, Mills River Partnership asked for engineering help and design from Dr. Greg Jennings, President/Owner of Jennings Environmental, contracting work by Darrell Westmoreland, Founder & CEO of North State Environmental, and workshop help from NC State Cooperative Extension agents, Mitch Woodward and Bill Lord.

• Dr. Jennings prepared a design plan that addressed sloping the bank, installing a “brush toe protection with soil geolift”, and covering the site with native seed, straw, and erosion control matting - permitted by Army Corps of Engineers.


• While most of the construction was done on December 6 by North State Environmental, the finishing touches of installing and planting perennials, trees, shrubs, and live stakes was completed by workshop attendees on December 7.

The workshop details were well underway, MRP was sourcing plants left and right... And since the workshop had a registration fee this time (for a bigger, more involved workshop), NCSU Cooperative Extension sponsored our lunch for the day!

So, in preparation for the workshop, MRP sourced trees from Hillside Nursery Wholesale, shrubs from Southeastern Native Plant Nursery, perennials from Botanical Treasures Nursery, live stakes harvested by Sierra Nevada Brewey and MRP staff, and whips harvested by RiverLink volunteers, as well as North State Environmental and MRP staff.

For the day of the workshop, over 25 people attended the morning session taught by Mitch Woodward (Cooperative Extension), Dr. Greg Jennings (Jennings Environmental), and Stephen Joyce (Landscaping & Planting Manager, North State Environmental). Lunch was provided by Joey’s New York Bagels, a delicious local eatery.. And after lunch, we carpooled to the project site and completed the “hands-on” portion of the workshop by discussing restoration and mitigation specifics on-site and installing the final plant details (with the assistance of waders borrowed from Mountain True).

At the end of it all, we were all thrilled with the results and the landowner even brought cookies and cider for everyone...

While in turn, MRP presented her with a ‘Mills River Steward’ sign for her dedication to protecting the quality of the Mills River.

A perfect ending to a wonderful workshop with many moving parts;
& An erosion nightmare that no longer exists.

​On a chilly late-October morning, Mills River resident and long-time water quality advocate, Jere Brittain, led a group of 12 along South Mills River Road for a walking tour. Jere calls this event the “Upper South Mills River Heritage Corridor Walking Tour” because not only was it a tour within the watershed, but also story-telling of historical and cultural events that happened in the area.

The initial tour took place October 29, 2017, and with all the interest we received, we look forward to a couple of tours throughout the year!

Stay tuned for more information and future tour dates.

Mills River Partnership participated in the annual Farm City Day event at Jackson Park on October 7, 2017.

Farm City Day began in 1955 and has since been an annual gathering where rural and urban traditions meet. Henderson County describes this event as “approximately 80 acres of Jackson Park used for urban, rural, and educational displays, antiques and modern farm equipment, and crafters from many generations. Farm City Day celebrates our rural traditions and introduces the urban population to some common farming activities from previous generations. A special youth area features many hands-on activities including petting farm animals, old-timey demonstrations, and a fishing pond. Planned entertainment includes three stages of square dancing, clogging, bluegrass and other bands performing throughout the day. Local non-profit organizations, food, and displays also cover two fields.”

During this event, our Outreach and Education Coordinator tabled with water quality information, freebies, and even a fun “Backyard Bass” kids’ activity to practice casting and reeling!

The event is always free to attend, and it’s always a good time for the whole family.

See you all next year!

The 30th Annual Big Sweep in western North Carolina may be our largest river cleanup to date!

For the event, Asheville Greenworks coordinated Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania county teams to paddle and cleanup rivers, including: the French Broad River, Green River, Mills River, Broad River, Watauga River, Mud Creek, Cane Creek, and many more waterways (and counties!).


On September 9, Mills River Partnership's team paddled Mills River, from the bridge on Highway 280 (at Valley AG Farm & Garden store) to Westfeldt Park (along the French Broad River). Our team of volunteers included: a few local residents, Sierra Nevada Brewery employees, and Asheville Greenworks volunteers. From the Mills alone, our team pulled at least: 4 tires, 8 bags of trash, large steel pipes and rods, miscellaneous plastic and styrofoam, and even a chainsaw!!

The official statistics from the event are still being calculated; however, at least 100 volunteers came together that day and removed 45 tires and several tons of garbage from over 25 miles of waterways in western North Carolina.

(This is amazing, and the numbers keep climbing!)

Special thanks to all the partners that made this event such a success: Asheville Greenworks, MountainTrue, RiverLink, Green Riverkeeper, French Broad Riverkeeper, Mills River Partnership, AmeriCorps Project Conserve, Asheville Outdoor Center, Griffin Waste Services, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Henderson County, French Broad Outfitters, and many more!

Hello, all.

As you may know, we do a lot of work in and around the Mills River, where we strive to ensure the safety of our participants and volunteers.

However, after a few intense workdays, I realized that Mills River Partnership needs life vests and waders to keep folks safe (and equipped) while they are with us, sometimes in deep, fast moving water.

So, rally together - we need your help!

I have been told that some organizations replace and/or upgrade equipment every few years, so I figured I'd reach out to everyone to see if there's any gently used equipment anyone would like to donate to an environmental (nonprofit) organization, as you upgrade. Specifically, we are looking for waders and life vests (for all ages); although, the big score would be a donated kayak to assist in our work along the Mills!

If you or someone you know may be able to help, please feel free to forward this request and/or contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments you may have, and we will get things squared away. 

(Forwarding this request in newsletters, emails, social media posts, etc. will also help us spread the word!)

Again, we are only asking for donations of gently used equipment, if you or your organization are able to donate.

Thank you for your consideration & I hope to hear from you soon.

Emily Israel
Outreach and Education Coorindator
Mills River Partnership
(704)593-9647Hello, all.

As you may know, we do a lot of work in and around the Mills River, where we strive to ensure the safety of our participants and volunteers.

However, after a few intense workdays, I realized that Mills River Partnership needs life vests and waders to keep folks safe (and equipped) while they are with us, sometimes in deep, fast moving water.

So, rally together - we need your help!

I have been told that some organizations replace and/or upgrade equipment every few years, so I figured I'd reach out to everyone to see if there's any gently used equipment anyone would like to donate to an environmental (nonprofit) organization, as you upgrade. Specifically, we are looking for waders and life vests (for all ages); although, the big score would be a donated kayak to assist in our work along the Mills!

If you or someone you know may be able to help, please feel free to forward this request and/or contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments you may have, and we will get things squared away. 

(Forwarding this request in newsletters, emails, social media posts, etc. will also help us spread the word!)

Again, we are only asking for donations of gently used equipment, if you or your organization are able to donate.

Thank you for your consideration & I hope to hear from you soon.



Emily Israel
Outreach and Education Coorindator
Mills River Partnership
(704)593-9647

On June 24, Mills River Partnership joined the Transylvania French Broad Stewards, the Town of Rosman, and Headwaters Outfitters (as well as many more great organizations!) to participate in the 2017 Upper French Broad Riverfest in Rosman, NC.

This is a free, family fun event with tubing, local bands, food trucks, vendors, and lots of activities for all ages. Did we mention the 20-mile relay race with gear prizes?!

At the event, down by the river, we educated kids (and adults) on the importance of water quality with a cool Enviroscape model (Thanks, River Link!) that demonstrates land use. We also signed some people up for our newsletter and shared a few freebies with those that stopped by.

In addition, we were able to see the paddlers set off early that morning for the 20 mile relay and watch the tubers (not the vegetable; no pun intended) enjoy their leisurely river floats throughout the day.

Thankfully, we got to enjoy some local eats and Oscar Blues Brewery's delicious Root Beer (Thanks, Transylvania French Broad Stewards!)

... And since then, we have enjoyed the memories documented by Transylvania Bounty.

Thank you for a wonderful event, and we hope to see you all next year!  ❤️