Heading down the Haw

11-6-00

By CHARLIE FRAGO, Staff Write News & Record

SAXAPAHAW -- The old river dogs -- the folks who canoed the Haw even when the trip left you stinking of chemicals -- say first-timers on the Haw River below Saxapahaw always utter the same phrase.

This can't be Alamance County.

The hustle and bustle of Burlington, Interstate 40's constant crawling hum, even the traffic on Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road fade away. All you hear is the sound of water moving, and maybe the scream of a hawk hanging in the autumn wind.

In recent years, more and more canoe enthusiasts have uttered words to that effect. The increasing popularity of water recreation on the Haw River is the result of a movement to save the river from development, promoting it instead as a destination for paddlers of even modest ability.

In October, the Alamance Chapter of Big Sweep inaugurated six public access points along a 28-mile stretch of the river, from Altamahaw in the northwest to Saxapahaw in the southeast, where paddlers can take their canoes in and out of the river.

"The idea is for people to get on the river, and see it for what it is -- a place of amazing natural beauty," said Mike Holland, a local environmentalist dubbed the "Energizer Bunny" by his admirers, who has spearheaded the campaign to create a Haw River Trail.

Holland envisions a day when 100 feet of land on each bank of the Haw is protected, and trails let hikers and hunters traverse Alamance County much like the original settlers and Native Americans.

Holland, who runs a marketing and consulting business from his home, is someone who chases his dreams hard. He has lobbied everyone from local landowners to county commissioners to create a land trust that would hold donated and acquired land. He piles anyone who shows the slightest interest in the Haw into a canoe to show them its charms firsthand.

He has assembled a group of environmentalists, outfitters, river guides and local residents to get things done. The city of Graham has sponsored one access point, and Glencoe Inc., a local textile manufacturer, has sponsored another.

When Holland moved to Saxapahaw in 1995, he had little environmental experience, and not a ton of interest.

"My wife told me, 'you're volunteering for Sierra Club,'" Holland said, executing a mock double-take. "I said, 'I am?'"

Taking a trip down the river with Holland, it's hard to believe he ever resisted getting involved. He rattles off facts about the river with the giddy enthusiasm of a kid reciting the batting averages of his favorite baseball players.

"Look at that Blue Heron," he yells, arm flapping as much as the wings of the big bird moving lazily along the treeline. "To your right, right, right!"

He paddles into a muddy inlet to illustrate how the creeks feeding into the Haw serve the valuable function of cleaning the river even as they harbor rare mussels and the resurgent beaver. Downriver a bit, he moons over a wooded shore, talking about his dreams of a camping area on an idyllic island.

On the river, it's hard not to see the logic of Holland's dream. The Haw River below Saxapahaw has rapids and flat water, towering birch-covered bluffs and abundant bird life. Miles drift by without a house or any sign of civilization.

"It's a wonderful river," said Julien McCarthy of ProCanoe, a Greensboro outfitting and supply store. McCarthy, who has paddled all over the Southeast, says the Haw is unique because it runs high enough all year round for paddlers. "Go on over to the Deep River this time of year and you'll be pulling your canoe along a rocky bottom."

McCarthy thinks the commercial potential of the river is just barely being tapped.

"You don't have a better river in the Piedmont," McCarthy said. "We're renting more canoes and kayaks each year to people who take them down the Haw."

Cleo Smith, a member of the Carolina Canoe Club, says the Haw is perfect for another reason -- it's family-friendly.

"It's a river where you're never in real danger. It's got rapids and you shouldn't go below Chicken Bridge if you don't know what you're doing, but it's not like the mountains. You don't want mama and papa and their two kids paddling down the Nantahala; it won't end well."

There are still problems. Large parts of the Haw remain on the EPA's impaired waters list and, above Swepsonville, about 90 million gallons of effluent are discharged into the river daily by local industry and wastewater treatment plants.

But water quality has improved and fish are making a comeback. Over the last 15 years, local textile mills, like Glen Raven Inc., have drastically reduced discharges and municipal wastewater plants now do a better job of cleaning waste before releasing it into the river, Holland said.

"It's 200 percent better than when I first paddled down the Haw in 1977," said William Nealy, a Hillsborough artist and writer who has written extensively about the Haw. "Back then, it smelled. If you didn't take a shower when you got home, you could get dermatitis, even pneumonia if it got into your lungs. The hospital folks at UNC used to call it 'Haw Riveritis.'"

Things are better now. There is no smell to the water -- at least not in cooler weather -- and not much trash, thanks in part to the annual pick-up sponsored by N.C. Big Sweep. In September, volunteers stacked discarded refrigerators in canoes and collected about 15 tons of trash, filling two 30-foot dumpster trucks, Holland said.

But threats to the river remain. The county landfill comes within a few hundred yards of the river. Holland worries that when county leaders look around to expand the landfill, they'll settle on a 1,000-acre tract that sits adjacent to the current site.

"I don't like to complain about things I contribute to," says Holland, as he walks up the smelly, barren hill of red dirt. "I generate trash just like everybody else, but I hope they put the next landfill a little further off the river."

For now, he is content to start small. More canoes on the river would be good. Hikers and fishermen, even better. Last month, Holland presented the Alamance Board of Commissioners with a wish list: he wants a land trust sponsored by the counties -- Alamance, Chatham, and Guilford -- that make up the Haw's watershed.

He also wants Alamance County to commit its parks and recreation department to co-sponsor the trail and to create a river-buffer plan that would protect the Haw from development down to the river's edge.

"It won't happen right away, but if we don't protect this river, you're going to have houses and parking lots all the way down to Jordan Lake, which will make it worthless for recreation purposes," Holland said.

Alamance County Commissioner Sam Powell says the commissioners haven't committed to any funding yet.

"We're interested in what we hear from Alamance County residents about what resources they want to protect," Powell said. "But, personally, I think the Haw is a tremendous asset for our county. We've really cleaned it up over the last 15 years and I think it presents a wonderful recreational opportunity."

The next step is to take the issue of preserving the Haw to county boards in Guilford and Chatham, Holland says.

"We've got to get the whole watershed on board for it to really work," he said.

Whatever the county decides to do, the image of the Haw River as a recreation destination seems to be sinking in among Alamance County residents.

Boy Scout Troop 65 in Saxapahaw paddled down the Haw for the first time in October and can't wait to get back into the water, assistant scoutmaster Sam Berryhill said.

"It was awesome," Powell said. "The kids were really tired by the end, but they were so excited to have a river like this so close to home."