JULY 9, 2009 ISSUE
DeMott, Williams, Dick and Joan Hearn Receive Watauga River Conservation Partners Awards
Richard DeMott, pictured on right, received the Decade of Dedicated Service Award and Adam Williams, pictured on left, and the Brushy Fork Environmental team received the Conservationist of the Year award from the Watauga River Conservation Partners. The Watauga River Conservation Partners (WRCP) formed in 1999 as a chapter of the Western North Carolina Alliance in response to the growing pressures on the water quality of the Watauga River and its tributaries. The organization has worked very hard to protect and restore the Watauga River, and educate the community about the Watauga River. Three awards were given at the WRCP annual potluck on June 25 at Valle Crucis Park.
As one of the founding members, Richard DeMott received the Decade of Dedicated Service Award. In order to protect the river you must be aware of its fragile systems and experience the benefits of having a clean river resource in your county. DeMott instigated seven years of Riverfest where community members came to learn about the river and engage in protection and conservation.
DeMott has also spearheaded the groundwater research and studies that are currently taking place throughout the High Country. He has got the conversation going about how much water is available to residents in the counties, and what are we doing to conserve and prepare for the future. DeMott has been a wonderful mentor and idea man for this organization. He has invaluable insights and strategies to make things happen. His leadership has directed this organization through ten years of accomplishments.
Dick and Joan Hearn have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours over the years teaching thousands of youth about local water resources and received the Inspiring our Youth Award. Most kids know Dick and Joan as “Mandy the Mayfly and the Stream Doctor” because that is how they go into the schools as an invaluable part of the Kids in the Creek program.
“They connect with the kids on a level that captures their imagination and respect for our environment. Not many people have this kind of talent. They are the reason the Kids in the Creek program is successful. We’ve been doing the Kids in the Creek program long enough now that see kids years later—middle school and even high school—and they remember the water program that they had while they were in 4th grade,” said a Watauga River Conservation Partners representative.
Dick and Joan Hearn have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours over the years teaching thousands of youth about local water resources and recently received the Inspiring our Youth Award from the Watauga River Conservation Partners.
Adam Williams and the Brushy Fork Environmental team received the Conservationist of the Year award for their hard work on the Watauga Watershed.
“WRCP thanks Adam for not giving up on the Upper Watauga Project and Elk River Project. Even though there have been obstacles they have pushed on and worked out any issues. Adam and his staff have always been there whenever we have needed them for any map, grant review and support in numerous other ways. Thank you so much for your perseverance in protecting our watershed,” said a Watauga River Conservation Partners representative.
WRCP’s efforts to protect the Watauga River serve all members of our community and visitors to it. The Watauga River Watershed is perhaps the most outstanding natural resource of the High Country, where it is a center for outdoor recreation, a site of scientific research, a fragile ecosystem that is home to endangered species of aquatic life, a source of high-quality water and a contributor to local and regional economies.
The Watauga River Conservation Partners meet on the first Monday of the month at the Agricultural Conference Center, located at 252 Poplar Grove Road in Boone, at 5:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
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