This press release was printed in the Durham Herald on Jan 30, 2011.
Carrboro, January 18, 2011. Friends of Bolin Creek has voted to develop its own transportation plan in order to protect the Bolin Creek watershed. The Board of Directors took the action at its first meeting of the year.
This effort will be part of the Bolin Creek Conservation Study currently underway. FOBC president Julie McClintock said. “I’m pleased the Board has given us clear direction to make connectivity a priority,” she said. “I am excited that we can engage bicyclist and walkers in the challenging task of identifying the best plan for our watershed and community.”
Friends of Bolin Creek is studying the entire Bolin Creek watershed, with community input, to make recommendations for the best methods to improve creek conditions and conserve this important forest area. The Conservation Study, now to include a non-motorized transportation plan for community connectivity, will be completed by fall 2011 and will consider water quality planning objectives.
“Bolin Creek flows through Chapel Hill and Carrboro,” McClintock noted. “Although scenic, the portion of the Creek from pathway Drive to US 15-501 has been listed on the EPA list of impaired streams since 2002. Given our community’s priority to build greenways and bikeways, it makes sense for us to make a comprehensive map of these connections in the watershed, without doing harm.”
The goal is to protect the biological richness of the Bolin Creek area. We want to promote cost-effective, long-term solutions to enhance the environmental, recreational and economic value of this unique North Carolina natural resource.
During its nine-year history, FOBC has raised awareness about protecting Bolin Creek. Currently, it is working with the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, as well as local, state and federal agencies, to support the development of a watershed restoration plan. FOBC’s Conservation Strategy Committee will study the existing practices and policies that compromise watershed health and deliver its recommendations by next fall.
While the study is underway, FOBC will engage the community in projects, such as its recent demonstration rain garden at McDougle Middle School. This past October, eighth-grade science students learned how a rain garden can simulate the natural conditions of a forest, planted the garden and installed a cistern, all with the help of an EPA grant administered by the Town of Carrboro.
The FOBC Board of Directors includes president McClintock; vice-president Tom Cors, of the Nature Conservancy; secretary/treasurer Bryan Weiner of the UNC School of Public Health; FOBC founder Dave Cook, an author and naturalist; Dick Ludington with the Conservation Fund ; and Julie Youngman, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.