About & Contact

Executive Committee

Bob Cherry, Chair

Iris Carman, Vice-chair

Chris Turner, Secretary

Dale Kirkley, Treasurer

Richard Gray , At-large member

Bailey Rathbone, At-large member

Contact

As we work to get the Blue Ridge Group more active we'd love to hear from you. What issues are important to you here (Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga, and Wilkes counties) that we should be involved in? What kind of programs do you want (any suggestions for speakers we should have are greatly appreciated)? Where would you like to join us for an outing? Our email address is below if you'd like to send us a note.

We have one opening left on our Executive Committee if you'd like to be even more involved. It would be great to get someone from Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe or Avery county to spread out our committee representation.

Local Stories and Issues

Here are some stories to read or actions to take that concern life here in the Northwest corner of North Carolina.

North Carolina Offers Savings on Energy Efficiency

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Energy Saver North Carolina program is now available in all 100 North Carolina counties, empowering eligible households to lower their energy bills. Residents can now check eligibility and apply for rebates to lower their electricity costs by making their homes more energy efficient. More than $200 million is available for home efficiency upgrades.

An eligible household can receive up to $16,000 in rebates for energy efficiency improvements such as heat pump heating and cooling systems and insulation, and initial estimates show a household could achieve nearly $1,000 in energy savings over the course of a year. Additional rebates of up to $14,000 are available for high efficiency electrical appliances such as water heaters and electric cooktops.

Details can be found HERE.

See Something, Say Something - Environmental Version

The Trump administration recently changed how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is being interpreted. Thanks to MountainTrue for bringing this to our attention. This change in interpretation means that the public is no longer required to be notified of activities on federal lands. That means it's more important than ever that you be alert for actions being taken by land managers of our National Forests and National Parks. Your vigilance is needed more than ever. MountainTrue gives a recent example: the US Forest Service started an illegal salvage logging operation in the Nolichucky River Gorge. Local concerned residents contacted MountainTrue, which led to them filing a suit to stop the project with their organizational partners. Without public notice being given by the federal government, reports from community members are needed to protect our parks and forests. We're calling on you to be on the lookout for oil and gas drilling, mining, tree clearing, or any other activity on federal public lands beyond normal road maintenance and trail maintenance. If you see something, say something. Contact us at blueridgesierraclub@gmail.com