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From YouTube: Buncombe Life - RiverLink
Description
In this episode of Buncombe Life, take a tour of the French Broad River and Swannanoa River with RiverLink. RiverLink is a non-profit river and environmental conservation here in Buncombe County whose efforts over the past 30 years have both cleaned up, revitalized, and changed the way we look at our waterways here. Join Kathy as she interviews founder, Karen Cragnolin about how RiverLink came to be what it is today and how it began. We'll also take a tour of the Wilma Dykeman waterway with Dave Russell.
A
Welcome
to
this
edition
of
bunkum
laughs
here
at
gene
rent
web
Riverpark,
which
was
the
very
first
river
park.
Why
am
I
telling
you
that
oh
man,
what
you're
gonna
hear?
But
if
you
hear
some
noise
overhead,
it's
because
we're
underneath
the
bridge
you
hear
that
that's
the
traffic
going
over
my
head.
If
you
lived
here
any
length
of
time
at
all,
you
know
that
the
river
and
growing
up
was
nowhere
that
you
went.
It
was
not
an
attraction,
it
was
awful.
What
happened?
Well,
keren
Craig
Nolan
happened.
A
The
river
link
happened
and
we're
gonna
tell
you
all
about
that.
You've
got
to
stay
tuned.
She
said
some
really
cool
stuff,
listen
to
what
she
said
when
she
first
visited
here.
So
she
came
down
to
the
river
and
it
drew
her
well,
thank
goodness
because
it
also
gave
her
a
vision
for
what
it
could
be.
So
what
you
see
the
river
is
today
and
all
the
neat
River
Arts
District
and
the
Greenway
coming
is
part
of
that
vision
that
she
had
so
stay
tuned
and
listen
as
Karen
and
Dave.
A
B
Gives
a
regional
organization
watershed
base,
so
we
work
from
the
headwaters
to
Knoxville.
We
work
with
the
Tennessee
Valley
Authority.
They
give
us
land
to
do
river
access
points
that
they're
abandoning
we
consult
with
them
quite
a
bit
and
have
they've
been
very
generous
with
their
resources
and
we
are
membership
driven
volunteer
driven.
We
have
a
very
small
staff.
B
We've
always
had
a
small
staff
given
like
2300
volunteers,
which
is
amazing,
and
our
mission
is
the
economic
and
environmental
renewal
of
the
French
Broad
River
watershed
as
a
destination
where
everybody
is
invited
to
live,
learn,
work
and
play
that's
a
pretty
big
umbrella,
but
it's
a
big
umbrella.
It's
a
pretty
big
umbrella.
So
we
put
in
river
access
points.
We
helped
design
and
fund
greenways.
A
B
B
Then
we
run
an
art
and
poetry
contest
for
the
whole
watershed
mm-hmm.
We
love.
We
love
that
we
do
a
lot
of
stream
restoration
work.
We've
had
a
lot
of
erosion
over
the
years,
that's
a
huge
problem
for
our
community
and
as
we
build
more
and
more
and
we
develop
more
and
more
that
we
have
to
then
take
some
measures
to
control
stormwater
and
to
stabilize
the
banks,
and
so
we
do
a
lot
of
that
and
we've
been
very
successful
at
getting
federal
and
state
funds
to
help.
Do
that.
So.
B
B
Friends
of
mine
telling
me
that
their
members
kids,
seeing
bloated
animal
carcass
floating
down
the
river
and
foam
in
different
color
ISM.
So
you
know,
but
that
was
a
story
of
the
American
River
that
was,
we
were
very
unconscious
of
our
rivers
and
the
affect
what
we
were
doing
had
on
them
until
1972
right
was
the
first
time
we
had
federal
legislation.
Many.
C
B
A
A
A
B
A
B
That's
where
people
die,
so
you
know
we
realized
that
the
community
had
to
sort
of
be
reintroduced
to
the
river
mm-hm
and
so
by
doing
a
very
extensive
planning
process
with
the
American
Institute
of
Architects
and
the
American
Society
of
landscape,
architects,
and
so
all
of
that
got
put
into
a
book
called
the
river
help.
Land.
B
The
city
adopted
that
plan
and
we
won
the
American
Planning
Association
award
and
we
ended
up
in
national
Geographics
magazine
and
and
so
we
then
we
got
land
donated
mm-hm.
Do
you
remember?
We
got
my
low
point,
nine
donated
by
then
Carolina
para
light
mm-hmm
and
Z
Smith
Reynolds
came
and
they
gave
us
some
more
money
and
we
did
a
master
plan
with
construction
drawings
for
that,
and
that
was
the
first
project.
C
Was
one
of
the
first
parks
river
link
had
a
hand
in
creating
Jean
web
Park
over
on
Riverside?
Drive
was
the
first,
but
this
was
the
first
really
major.
Park
River
link
had
a
hand
in
this
property
was
an
old
landfill,
illegal
dumping
zone
for
many
years
and
Karen
had
the
vision
to
turn
it
into
a
park.
Many
people,
including
her
own
husband,
said:
please
tell
me
you,
you
didn't
buy
this
property,
but
she
did.
C
It
was
a
blighted
property
and
she
wanted
it
to
be
a
part
of
the
Greenway,
the
system
that
she
had
envisioned
going
through
this
area.
It
has
quite
a
few
amenities.
It
has
a
rather
attractive
toilet
building
over.
Here
that's
been
dubbed
the
Taj
matoi
luyt.
This
is
the
park
that
a
lot
of
people
in
Nashville
know
as
the
dog
park.
If
you're
trying
to
tell
someone
to
meet
you
here,
you
say
meet
me
at
the
dog
park.
It
also
has
a
gazebo
here.
C
The
gazebo
was
designed
after
the
carousel
that
was
at
Asheville
Riverside
Park
up
where
Pearson
bridge
crosses
the
French
Broad,
it
had
a
carousel.
It
also
has
a
boat
landing.
A
canoe
landing
where
you
can
put
in
your
boat
up
on
the
northern
side
of
the
property.
It's
got
a
fishing
deck
built
for
built
for
handicapped
fishermen
who
would
like
to
to
sit
there
and
do
some
fishing,
but.
A
This
is
part
and
when
we
talk
to
Karen,
she
told
us-
you
know
Jeron
to
the
river
when
I
first
came
here,
I
was
drunk
and
she
had
a
vision,
so
she
must
have
had
a
vision
for
what
this
could
be
because
22
years
later
now,
I
can't
imagine
that
this
was
a
dumping
ground.
It's
beautiful,
it's
beautiful,
absolutely.
A
C
To
maintain
it,
it
will
have
a
connection
that
goes
from
here
to
the
New
Belgium
brewery
and
you'll,
be
able
to
ride
your
bicycle
from
here
up
to
New
Belgium
visit
the
liquid
Center
and
have
yourself
a
beer
and
go
across
the
Craven
Street
bridge
and
come
down.
Riverside
Drive
or
Lyman
Street
back
to
the
Amboy
Road
Bridge
here
and
get
in
your
car
and
go
home.
It'll
be
like
it
about
a
three
and
a
half
mile
ride.
A
C
A
A
Ain't
it
that's
right
ash,
that's
the
official
name
for
it,
for
anybody
can
live
here
any
amount
of
time.
They
remember.
I
grew
up
on
with
satchel
I.
Remember
the
noise.
A
lot
of
people
have
really
fond
memories
of
the
actual
Motor
Speedway
I
really
do
they
loved
it,
but
now
historically,
it's
still
here
tell
us
about
it.
Tell
us
about
what
happened
in
in
1999.
C
Had
the
vision
to
turn
this
into
a
park
to
turn
a
motor
speedway
into
a
park
and
River
Link
put
together
some
money
and
bought
the
property.
It's
now
one
of
the
most
used
parks
in
the
Asheville
system,
the
racetrack,
instead
of
being
called
a
velodrome,
is
now
known
as
the
mellow
drone
and
on
any
given
day
you
can
see
bicyclists
going
round
and
round
and
round.
C
C
There
is
a
playground
that
river
link
volunteers,
built
in
one
weekend,
River
Link
held
a
lot
of
community
meetings
to
find
out
what
people
would
want
in
their
park
and
they
came
up
with
a
lot
of
suggestions
from
the
younger
set
and
the
older
crowd
said
hey
what
about
us?
Let's
find
something
we
can
do
so.
There's
a
bulky
ball
court
over
here,
which
I
find
intriguing
just
to
watch.
It's
a
really
really
good
amenity
for
the
park
and
it
does
connect
to
greenways
going
both
ways.
C
C
B
A
B
A
B
A
A
B
The
warehouse
studio
still
boring
Stribling,
okay,
and
we
have
artists.
That
was
the
first
artists
studios
on
the
river,
and
that
was
part
of
our
economic
development
strategy
with
arts
and
crafts.
And
you
know
it's
really
funny.
We
couldn't
get
bank
to
give
us
money,
so
we
went
to
every
bank
in
town
and
said
we're
gonna
cash
flow.
We
have
a
down
payment
from
the
janitor
found
a
ssin,
and
we
need
sixty
four
thousand
dollars
to
buy
the
rest
of
this
building
and
we
need
a
mortgage
in
thanks,
really
you're
gonna
cash
flow.
B
B
A
C
C
C
A
I,
don't
think
anybody
realizes
how
far
in
just
30
years,
how
far
the
river
has
come,
especially
people
who
are
just
coming
here
come
down
to
the
river
arch
district
and
they
see
it
and
I
think
they
think
it's
been
like
this.
This
has
always
been
here
know
at
thirty-year.
If
you
come
a
long
way
in
30.
A
B
Wedding
is
starting
well,
you
have
to
see
where
we
started
yeah
and
you
know
I
think
one
of
the
things
that
I
hear
a
lot
from
folks
that
are
here
and
that
use
the
rubriz.
They
want
the
river
to
stay
authentic
and
it's
a
little
rough.
It's
not
polished
and
that's
part
of
the
charm
and
fascination
with
it.
That's
true
it
can
be
clean.
Then
we
want
it
clean
and
it
can
be
usable
and
well-loved,
but
getting
it
to
slicked
up
and
fancy.
I,
don't
think
is
what
I've
heard
from
the
public.
What.
A
C
C
Call
this
the
river
link,
sculpture
and
performance
Plaza,
it's
located
at
144,
Riverside
Drive
in
the
River
Arts
District.
This
was
once
the
site
of
these
three
ugly
industrial
buildings.
They
were
bright
blue
and
when
you
drove
over
the
Jeff
Bowen
bridge
up
there,
that
was
the
welcome
you
got
when
you
were
coming
into.
C
Asheville
was
looking
down
and
seeing
these
ugly
buildings,
they
had
a
bunch
of
cars
parked
around
and
piles
of
different
kinds
of
garbage
river
link
bought
this
property
in
2008
and
in
2010
we
had
the
buildings
torn
down,
we've
recycled,
a
lot
of
the
lumber
and
so
on
from
them
to
go,
build
build
art
studios
over
in
the
film
mechanic
building.
So
we
have
turned
this
place
into
a
performance
Plaza
where
we
have
our
River
music
concert
and.
A
C
A
C
And,
for
example,
there
was
once
a
transmission
shop
here
and
I
know
that,
because
I've
pulled
about
a
hundred
clutches
out
of
the
river
that
when
they
would
replace
the
clutch,
they
would
just
throw
it
out
the
back
window
out
of
sight
out
of
mind.
So
we
have
done
a
lot
to
clean
this
property
up.
It
was,
it
was
an
industrial
mess
when
we
bought
it
and
now
it's
going
to
be
part
of
a
Greenway
system
that
will
be
going
through
here,
part
of
the
River
Arts
District
transportation,
improvement
plan.
Aha,.
C
A
A
Yeah
and
for
people
who
haven't
been
down
here,
we
were
just
saying
as
we
walked
up,
we
said
New
Belgium.
We
thought
that
we
didn't
realize
that
was
New
Belgium,
it's
really
bad.
When
you
come
down
here,
if
you
haven't
been,
you
need
to
come
and
see
so
we're
off
stay
tuned,
we'll
see
where
we
go
next.
B
A
B
And-
and
that
makes
Jews
concept
you
know,
people
really
are
more
and
more
wanting
to
live
and
work
close
together.
Absolutely
you
know,
it's
big
paradigm
shift
happen
in
those
30
years,
not
just
the
rivers
change,
but
people
used
to
go
where
jobs
are
right.
Now
people
decide
where
they
want
to
live
and
they
find
or
create
a
job.
They're.
B
A
B
A
B
That
morning
my
Ben
Sherman
and
I
walked
the
Sikh
sacred
site
and
went
oh,
my
god.
It's
covered
in
concrete,
it's
not
just
in
the
entranceway,
it's
the
whole
six
acres,
and
so
we
said:
okay,
well,
we'll
figure
it
out
we'll
deal
with
it
and
I.
You
know
it's
a
wonderful
story
about
our
community
because
we
started
calling
companies
all
across
the
country
doing
lots
of
research
about
ok.
How
do
we
deal
with
the
cement,
correct
and
D
H
Griffin
with
an
office
right
here
in
Asheville,
came
forward
and
said:
listen,
we
want
to
help.
B
C
B
A
B
A
A
B
A
C
A
C
A
C
Of
cars
up
on
top
of
each
other,
so
River
link
bought
this
property
in
2006
and
with
a
vision
to
turn
it
into
keren
Craig
Nolan
Park,
the
soil,
as
you
can
imagine,
was
a
mess.
Cars
had
been
here,
dripping
oil
and
antifreeze,
and
diesel
and
gasoline.
So
the
soil
was
really
a
mess
and
Karen
has
an
idea,
she's
a
visionary.
She
has
an
idea
of
creating
sort
of
an
amphitheater
here
with
a
stage
and
some
restroom
facilities
that
we
could
use
for
our
purposes
our
concerts
and
so
on.
C
A
A
B
I,
don't
I,
don't
think
the
community
in
itself
has
really
grants
the
value
of
the
water
that
we
have
the
abundant
clean
water
that
we
have
and
if
we
came
together
as
a
community
and
really
understood
that
we
we
would
just
take
they
wouldn't
we
would
take
very
good
care
of
that.
River
and
I
would
also
like
we're
known
as
a
mad
city.
Mm-Hmm
I
would
love
for
us
to
be
known
universally
as
a
River
City,
oh,
not
just
a
mountain
city,
but
a
River
City
right.
A
That
not
interesting
now
you
know
where
we've
come.
You
know
a
little
bit
about
where
we're
going.
I
hope
that,
as
you
come
and
visit
the
river
and
some
of
these
great
places
in
these
parts,
you
kind
of
have
a
sense
of
the
history
of
what's
what
got
us
to
where
we
are
and
I
hope,
you'll
get
involved
in
where
we're
going
with
the
river.