With our 5th Annual Lake James Watershed Symposium in the books, we are grateful to everyone who helped make it such a resounding success! The Symposium had 130 registrants and a lineup of over a dozen informative presentations. We appreciate the speakers who brought an amazing set of credentials, knowledge, and accomplishments to our program.
The support of the NC School of Science and Mathematics, through its incredible venue (“The Barn”) and its students and staff, is gratefully acknowledged, as are the contributions of our collaborators: Catawba Riverkeeper and Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. Finally, without our dedicated volunteers, LJEA could not fulfill any part of our mission, “to protect and enhance the long-term environmental health and natural beauty of Lake James and its watershed.”
Want to learn more? See the videos below:
Agenda:
Welcome (9:30 AM) - Joanne Deyo (Lake James Environmental Association) and Christiane Burkins (NCSSM-Morganton)
Morning Sessions (9:30 AM- 12 PM) Moderator - Marshall Taylor (LJEA)
- 9:40 Celebrating our Accomplishments and Continued Progress - Joanne Deyo (LJEA)
- LJEA Annual Summary
- 9:50 Lake James Watershed Water Quality Update
- 2025 Data Review and Discussion - Ann Marie Traylor (Environmental Quality Institute)
- 10:10 Post-Helene Ecology in the Catawba River upstream of Lake James
- Turtles & Helene impacts on Catawba River ecology- Josh Holbrook (Montreat College)
- Mercury in Kingfishers along the upper Catawba -Drake Fowler (Montreat College)
- 10:30 Bugs, Bugs, Bugs and their front yards - Levi Reece (Reece Environmental Consulting)
- 10:45 Break
- 11:00 Habitat Enhancement at Fonta Flora County Park* - Sarah Chabaane (Burke County), Lee Kiser, Cadence Davis, Gillian Freeze (LJEA)
*The above video has an audio problem after the initial introduction by Ms. Chabaane. Here is a direct link to the student’s video presentation.
- 11:20 Partners & Progress - Moderator: Marshall Taylor (LJEA)
- 11:20 LJEA/NCSSM Collaboration - Christiane Burkins (NCSSM)
- 11:30 Data Analytics Mentorship Program and Accomplishments - Todd Bell (LJEA) *Better audio of the students’ presentation in this version.
- 11:45 Update from Duke Energy- Brett Hartis (Duke Energy)
Lunch (12 PM-1 PM)
Afternoon Sessions (1:00 PM- 4:30 PM) Moderator: Brandon Jones, Catawba Riverkeeper
- 1:00-1:20 Catawba Wateree Relicensing Coalition History and Updates-Vicki Taylor (Executive Coordinator, CWRC)
- 1:20-2:00 Land Protection Updates in the Lake James Watershed- Shane Prisby and Michael Gaffney (FCNC)
- 2:00 - 2:20 Overview of Nutrients and Algae in Lake James - Mark Brenner (Warren Wilson College)
- 2:20 - Break
- 2:35-3:30 Catawba Riverkeeper Updates
- 2:35-3:10 PM - Organizational Overview- Brandon Jones (CRF) and Northern Basin Updates -Grant Buckner and Sophie McCarthy (CRF)
- 3:10-3:25 PM- What Happened at the State Legislature in 2025- Ryan Carter (CRF)
- 3:30 Panel- Community Engagement - Moderator: Joanne Deyo
