From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Asheville environmental nonprofit RiverLink has received two grants to advance the propagation of native river cane, Arundinaria gigantea, to increase its availability to post-Helene restoration efforts in the French Broad River drainage, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on June 26.

A generous grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Truist Foundation Western NC Recovery and Resiliency Fund, together with a grant from the Resilient Futures Co-Lab, will enable RiverLink to recruit commercial-scale growers to cultivate new sources of plant material. 

The project will promote growing methods at scale in partnership with area growers, then connect them with restoration practitioners and the commercial market, providing an economic basis for increased propagation, where river cane has been in short supply.

“River cane has super powers for retaining stream banks during flood events,” Renee Fortner, director of programs at RiverLink, told the ACT. “We noticed that stream banks with healthy river cane stands suffered less damage during Hurricane Helene. 

“Unfortunately, our native river cane has been reduced to less than 2 percent of its original range, and restoration practitioners have struggled to find plant material for recovery projects. 

“This effort will help provide the economic basis for participation by local plant growers, and support enhanced reintroduction for future flood resilience,” Coats told the ACT.