Afterword

Where can the esthetic, or even the spiritual, value of contact with the natural world be placed on a ledger of assets (healthy ecosystems) and liabilities (despoiled biomes)?  Often it is tucked away as a cipher buried in spreadsheets and reports proclaiming commitment to conservation of natural resources while allowing for a paltry buffer around excavations, clear-cuts and rights-of-way in the continuing commercialization of natural resources.

     Increasingly, urbanization is emptying rural communities of residents who seek the purported amenities of larger cities.  Farms grow larger to feed the cities and “burbs”, necessitating more land-development for some agricultural products. The burden of waste disposal falls on the rural landscape where residents are often left to endure exposures to toxic air, contaminated water and noxious odors.  An expanding network of highways between urban centers and less populated areas makes for a more rapid transfer of goods and unwanted  byproducts.   

    The history of conservation compels many to establish firewalls against aggressive encroachment into unique habitats.  Restoration of damaged ecosystems stimulates creative approaches to protection in North Carolina, ranging from water-filtering oyster farms in estuaries to carbon-capturing forests in the mountains.  In between these, rivers are one of the main focal points in preservation efforts throughout North Carolina and also the nation.  Many organizations such as the Winyah Rivers Alliance, American Rivers, The Southern Environmental Law Center, Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, The Sierra Club, and Wildlife Action advocate for clean water and free-flowing rivers throughout our state and nation.  Locally, The Lumber River Basin Committee positioned itself squarely in the forefront of river protection in collaboration with others having a vision of stewardship of a biodiverse world. 

Going forward, a partnership of environmental, educational, agricultural, commercial, recreational, and governmental interests with a targeted specificity will be required to preserve our resource: the Lumber River.

Additional Reading:

Four excellent sources of information are the Master Plan for the Lumber River State Park , the website for the National Park System’s Rivers and Trails division and Drs. Andrew Ash and Emanuel's books.

Lumber River State Park: Home

https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/lumber.php

            The Lumber River: Environment, Culture and Ecology, by Andrew N. Ash, PhD, Professor of Biology (Retired) UNCP

            On The Swamp, by Ryan Emanuel, PhD,  Associate Professor of Hydrology at Duke University