Our local paddling club, Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts, holds the Nolichucky River near and dear to our hearts as one of our best whitewater paddling reaches. Since the club’s formation in 1986 the group has a rich history of volunteer organizers leading the charge for annual river cleanup events to promote awareness and sustain conservation efforts on this waterway. Our new conservation officer, Trin McAlister, joined forces with James Burleson and Deana Gates to make this Noli cleanup event another good one on 6/15/2024!

We were happy to partner again with Blue Ridge Paddling, the area’s newest outfitter and Jackson Kayak dealer, who hosted the event at their store in Erwin, TN. The store’s location is on the banks of the Lower Nolichucky River and makes for a great midpoint along the cleanup run to rally all the volunteers. Cleanup groups were formed to cleanup various stretches from USA Raft at the bottom of the gorge to the “sawmill” river access parking area near the Unicoi & Washington County Line.

We ended up having over 40 volunteers come together to help clean up the river on the hot and sunny day. Literally tons of trash was removed from the river by the volunteers and countless tires were pulled out of the river bed for proper disposal.

We had many great sponsors donate prizes for the after-party raffle to help thank all the volunteers for their efforts. A Jackson Kayak Karma Unlimited was donated and given away as one of the grand prizes in the stash to one of our lucky volunteers. Lots of tasty hamburgers and hot dogs were grilled for the volunteers to enjoy as part of the after party. Food, fun and fellowship abounded in a celebration for a job well done of our river family.

Thank you to all who joined to make this event a HUGE success this year. A special thank you goes out to Trin, James and Deana for their months of hard work to organize this worthwhile event.