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www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
• Cape Fear
Riverwatch
One year after the Coastal Land
Trust opened its doors, Cape Fear
Riverwatch (www.cfrw.us/) joined
the ranks of local organizations committed to
preserving southeastern NC’s local treasures
— and found themselves with a lot of work
to do.
“CFRW really tries to take a watershed
approach to protecting the environment and
improving the water quality of the Cape Fear
River. That being said, the Cape Fear River
watershed is the largest watershed in the state,
covering over 9,000 square miles,” says Kemp
Burdette. “One fourth of the state’s counties
are in the watershed, as are one fourth
of the state’s population. We have a lot to
look after and, logistically, we just can’t focus
our resources on the entire watershed. We
work primarily in New Hanover, Brunswick,
Pender, Duplin, Sampson, Bladen, and
Cumberland Counties.”
Such comprehensive work can’t be accomplished
by a single organization, as Burdette is
quick to point out. “Collaboration with other
environmental groups is critical. We work
closely with many of the other groups in town
on projects ranging from single clean-ups, to
partnerships like the Cape Fear Arch, a group
dedicated to balancing the needs of man and
nature, to teaming up with groups on specific
issues like the fight to stop Titan Cement from
having long-lasting negative environmental
impacts on our region.”
To spread their message, Riverwatch hosts
First Saturday Seminars each month, where
experts on a wide range of topics relating to
the Cape Fear River hold forth. They also
conduct a monthly paddling series and work
with eighth graders in New Hanover and
Brunswick Counties to teach them about the
impact of storm water pollution on rivers like
the Cape Fear.
In 2010, says Burdette, Riverwatch will