By Chad Tucker | FOX8 News
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Riverkeeper Travels Yadkin Ahead of 40th Earth Day
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. - The Yadkin Riverkeeper is halfway through a nearly month-long kayak trip down the Yadkin River, a journey he hopes will draw attention to the river's beauty.
Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, stopped at the Boone's Cave Park in Davidson County Wednesday, the halfway point on his 230 mile trip that starts at Kerr Scott Lake and goes to Lake Tillery.
"It's such a gorgeous river, it's such an important resource and it's really under utilized for recreation and tourism." Naujoks said.
He calls his journey the Tour de Yadkin, and he says he hopes his trip brings attention to the river, particularly to things that threaten the river's health.
"Without it we wouldn't have the economic prosperity that we've had, and I think people need to get behind it, especially elected officials. There's a lot of improvements that are going to need to be made over the next 20-30 years. We need to invest in waste water infrastructure, upgrade water treatment plants, we certainly need to take care of storm water pollution." Naujoks said.
Naujoks says he's seen sewage discharge pipes and lots of sediment runoff from construction sites during his trip down the river. And while he says the river has threats, that hasn't kept the river from showing off its beauty.
"About an hour ago we saw one of the largest snapping turtles that I've ever seen in my life. We've seen a lot of wildlife -- birds, bald eagles -- we saw three bald eagles." Naujoks said.
The Yadkin is the second largest river in the North Carolina. 83 municipalities, serving over 1 million people, use it for drinking water.
"I think protecting the water quality in the river is critical." said Edgar Miller, president of Davidson County Tourism and Recreation.
Miller says tourism is one of the few areas to see growth in the area, and believes opening the river up more to tourism could be successful.
"Certainly it is a recreation resource that folks have used over the years, but not extensively, and we'd like to develop some of that tourism infrastructure -- canoe platforms, campsites -- what we call blueways, to go with some of the greenway plans we're working on in the county as well." Miller said.
Naujoks says support from elected officials helps bring people to the river for recreation, but he says any economic or recreational benefits the river provides can only happen if the river's health is protected.
"We've not invested the type of money into our sewer infrastructure, water infrastructure that we need to, and I think we need to reinvest in those resources again to protect the river, the water quality that communities are drinking." Naujoks said.
You can follow Naujoks on his Web site, yadkinriverkeeper.org, as he continues his journey down the Yadkin River.
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