(November 2022) The Pigeon River Fund awarded seven grants totaling $197,500 to environmental groups working to improve surface water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitats, expand public use and access to waterways and increase water quality awareness in Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties. Since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed nearly $9 million in grants.
The most recent Pigeon River Fund grant recipients are:
$25,000 to Asheville GreenWorks to support its Youth Environmental Leadership Program that deploys interns to work to decrease the amount of litter flowing into waterways and to increase citizens’ awareness about their roles in protecting these resources.
$35,000 to Environmental Quality Institute to support its VWIN, SMIE and AmeriCorps programs that support volunteer stream monitoring throughout the Pigeon and French Broad River Basins.
$45,000 to Haywood Waterways Association toward program and administrative costs for the 2023 calendar year.
$25,000 to Haywood Waterways Association to repair failing septic systems and educate Haywood County citizens about water quality issues, particularly bacteria, in the Pigeon River Watershed.
$12,500 to Laurel Community Center Organization to complete the outdoor pavilion for experiential learning and recreational purposes and to support administrative costs.
$35,000 to Mountain Valleys RC&D Council to address water quality in the Ivy River Watershed and Madison County waterways.
$20,000 to RiverLink for construction of the Southside Community Stormwater Project that will treat runoff at Erskine Apartments to solve flooding issues and improve surface water quality in Town Branch.
The next application deadline for qualifying nonprofits in Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties is March 15, 2023.
The Pigeon River Fund was established through an agreement between Carolina Power & Light (now Duke Energy) and the State of North Carolina. CFWNC administers the grant program. For information about the Pigeon River Fund, contact Senior Program Officer Tara Scholtz at 828-367-9913.