ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Pigeon River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) has awarded 12 grants to environmental groups across the region.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WNC GRANTS $975K TO MANNA FOODBANK

According to a news release from CFWNC, the grants, totaling $350,365, are intended to help with the following:

• Improve surface water quality
• Enhance fish and wildlife habitats
• Expand public use and access to waterways
• Increase water quality awareness in Buncombe, Haywood, and Madison counties

The release says that, with the support of the grants and since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed $10,594,556.

FOUNDATION DISTRIBUTES OVER $1.6M TO LOCAL NONPROFITS AIDING IN HELENE RECOVERY

According to the release, the following are the most recent recipients of the Pigeon River Fund:

• $50,000 to Asheville GreenWorks to expand its cleanup operations, train, and recruit new Streamkeeper volunteers, and replace two Trash Trout litter collection devices.
• $7,700 to Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District to support environmental education programming in Buncombe County, such as Camp RIO and the In Real Life afterschool program.
• $30,000 to Conserving Carolina to cover transaction costs on two adjacent conservation easements along the Cane Creek floodplain.
• $45,000 to the Environmental Quality Institute to provide ongoing support for the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange and Volunteer Water Information Network programs that support volunteer stream monitoring in Haywood, Buncombe, and Madison counties.
• $35,000 to Haywood Waterways Association for program and administrative support.
• $11,415 to Haywood Waterways Association for repairs to two failing septic systems and outreach to Haywood County community members regarding septic tank maintenance and water quality protection.
• $15,750 to Haywood Waterways Association for planning costs associated with the removal of a small dam in Maggie Valley.
• $50,000 to Mountain Valleys RC&D Council for the Ivy River Partners program, which improves water quality and increases citizen awareness in the Ivy River Watershed and Madison County waterways.
• $7,000 to the North Carolina Wildlife Federation for restoration and conservation work at Fox Creek Park in Buncombe County.
• $33,500 to RiverLink for staff support to implement a restoration project in Hurricane Helene-affected areas of Swannanoa.
• $30,000 to Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy to permanently protect 201 acres of productive farm and forest land that contain unnamed headwater tributaries and portions of Crabtree Creek.
• $35,000 to the Town of Weaverville to retrofit and expand two stormwater detention basins and to stabilize and restore eroded streambanks in the Town’s Nature Park.