Reconnecting Water & Community in the Heart of Asheville after Helene
The Asheville-Buncombe (A-B) Tech Stream Restoration project has finished construction! Wildlands worked with RiverLink and A-B Tech Community College to complete this project, which was identified as part of the Central Asheville Watershed Plan in 2019. It restored 1600 LF of Haith Branch and 530 LF of an unnamed ephemeral gully (named Haith Gulley for the project). Both the stream and gulley were severely eroding, with headcutting and lateral scour contributing to excessive sediment and silting of aquatic habitat within the reach and into the French Broad River 400 LF downstream.
Haith Branch and Haith Gulley are headwater tributaries to the French Broad River, draining the A-B Technical Community College (A-B Tech) Asheville Campus and adjacent residential areas. Wildlands helped prepare technical grant information, and design work began in 2023 with the procurement of that grant funding, awarded from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) and the Pigeon River Fund.
Wildlands began by collecting existing conditions data, analyzing the 2017 LiDAR as well as recent topographical surveys, which were taken by AB Tech’s own surveying class. This data allowed Wildlands to selectively restore specific areas along Haith Branch that had one or more impairments. Some of these impairments included lack of instream habitat, severe bank erosion or tight meanders, incised sections lacking regular floodplain access, and areas where erosion was actively damaging existing sewer line or water line infrastructure.
Wildlands procured necessary permits, including 401/404 and erosion control, prior to beginning construction in the fall 2024, about three months after Hurricane Helene. The hurricane resulted in approximately 20 fallen trees needing removal throughout the work area, the blow out of an earthen dam and culvert at the top of the project that was originally not part of the project, and the necessary restoration of several additional areas of Haith Branch, which were significantly eroded by the storm flows. In the wake of the hurricane, Wildlands adapted our design plans to better meet the needs of the site and of the community.
Construction began earlier than anticipated to expedite recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene. Through this project, we were able to provide work for the contractor, Baker Grading, when most projects were at a standstill due to the hurricane recovery. A local surveyor was also utilized to provide grade control for the GPS model that Baker utilized.
The original design minimized grading to reduce the number of trees required to be cut down, which was a request of the community college and the residential neighbors of the stream. However, after Helene wiped through WNC, approximately 20 additional trees had fallen within the project area. All trees cut and fallen were utilized to provide grade control in the form of log drops, a log sill, steep embankment toe protection, wetland habitat, and floodplain and vernal pool large woody debris functioning as habitat and reducing the velocity of overland flow before entering “Haith Gulley” and subsequently Haith Branch.
Following Hurricane Helene, construction of the AB Tech Stream Restoration Project has provided an opportunity to bring together—and show support for—our Asheville community. Before construction, community members often walked with their children, pets, or fellow neighbors along the stream corridor and the walking trail. The project amended the existing walking trail, which now crosses the earthen embankment of the newly constructed vernal pool. These new trails allow for views of the step pool gulley restoration and have expanded the recreational area available to the public for enjoyment. RiverLink is in the process of procuring an educational sign to place along the trail explaining the restoration and its importance. The AB Tech surveying class has already been able to get back out into the area, and the project continues to bring new opportunities for the Asheville community.
🌿2025 ECOSTREAM CONFERENCE🌿
If you’re attending the conference, join us for a field tour of this site on August 14, 2025!
