The Dam Fighters
In 1970, local residents in western North Carolina formed the Upper French Broad Defense Association (UFBDA) to oppose the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) proposal to place 14 dams on the French Broad River. By 1972, thanks to the efforts of the UFBDA, TVA discontinued its project for the region. Scroll below to learn more about the efforts of the self-proclaimed, "Dam Fighters" and the legacy of their actions.
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Sketch of Scarf worn by UFBDA Members. Image from University of North Carolina at Asheville Special Collections
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TVA in WNC |
In May 1966, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) released a plan for the comprehensive water resource development of the French Broad River and its tributaries. This plan, as depicted in TVA’s map (pictured below), spread across Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties within western North Carolina (WNC). TVA’s project for Appalachian North Carolina included 14 dams, 74 miles of river channelization, 18,000 flooded acres of agricultural farmland, the removal of 600 local families, and the implementation of a $6 million levee in the city of Asheville. Thanks to the efforts of the UFBDA, this plan was never implemented.*
*Unpublished pamphlet, Martha Gash Boswell, “Grassroots Along the Upper French Broad,” 20, folder 13, box 2, UFBDA Records Western Regional Archives (WRA), Asheville, North Carolina. |
TVA Map of the French Broad River Project. Image from Western Regional Archives, Asheville, North Carolina
UFBDA's Significance |
The UFBDA represents the power of communities endowed with regional knowledge and an awareness of national policy changes in fighting to preserve local landscapes.
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People Cannot Be Pushed Around
at the Whim of Bureaucracy
Little River Valley, western North Carolina. Image from Western Regional Archives
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The Little River Valley, (shown left) was a thriving agricultural community which would have been flooded by the TVA project in western North Carolina. Despite the fact that the Little River Valley was the most productive agricultural land per acre in all of western North Carolina, the TVA proposed to cover the land with an impoundment, flooding everything as far back as where the valley's two surrounding mountains nearly meet. The “Dam Fighters” of the UFBDA of course mourned the potential loss of these acres but also opposed the dams because of the lack of plausibility in TVA’s promises for the region. TVA claimed to offer flood control, increased water supply, improved water quality, and economic development through recreation. UFBDA members were skeptical of TVA's proposal for economic development in their project for western North Carolina based on their regional knowledge of TVA’s actions in neighboring counties. In 1942, four other mountain counties in NC accepted a similar offer from TVA. By 1967 it was apparent to UFBDA members that for Cherokee, Graham, Swain, and Clay counties in western North Carolina, TVA had not delivered on its promise of economic stimulus and growth because those counties that accepted TVA’s 1942 offer had in fact experienced population losses and decreases in average per capita income. Based on their knowledge of TVA in other parts of western North Carolina, the “Dam Fighters” assembled together as the UFBDA to illustrate to TVA that the people of western North Carolina "cannot be pushed around at the whim of bureaucracy."*
*Letter, Martha Gash Boswell to Everett Jordan, September 9, 1970, folder 4, box 1, UFBDA Records, Western Regional Archives (WRA), Asheville, NC. |
River Recreation in WNC
Members of the UFBDA also objected to TVA’s project for the region because it did not acknowledge preexisting recreational uses of the Upper French Broad River. In their environmental impact statement, TVA stated there currently were no recreational opportunities or uses of the river. Well, UFBDA members knew that was not the case. As you can see in the images on the right, canoeing was a common activity on the French Broad and its tributaries during this time. In fact, within Transylvania County alone, there were 18 summer camp programs which relied heavily on this form of recreation. Many local residents were also fond of using the river for trout fishing. TVA never acknowledged the presence of fishing in the region perhaps because they didn’t understand it. There were not designated public access points for fishing in the region because fishermen largely used the French Broad as a commons, simply parking their trucks near the river and fishing, even if that section of the riverbank was privately owned.* TVA did not acknowledge these preexisting forms of recreation, activities that would have been ruined had their plan been implemented. The UFBDA’s local knowledge about the prevalence of these activities fueled their fight against the validity and necessity of the TVA project for western North Carolina.
*Speech by Charles Taylor before the Citizens and Taxpayers League of Transylvania County, February 2, 1967, 12, folder 6, box 3, UFBDA Records WRA. |
Canoe recreation on the North Fork of Mills River. Image from Western Regional Archives.
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The Lake Douglas Hypothesis
As the UFBDA continued to gather information and become skeptical about the TVA’s promises, they developed their own alternative explanation for TVA’s interest in a project within western North Carolina, the “Lake Douglas Hypothesis.” UFBDA members became increasingly convinced that the genuine motivations behind the 14 dams on the Upper French Broad was to provide TVA additional water for their east Tennessee reservoir, Lake Douglas. UFBDA members took the images you see above from the front yard of a so-called, “lakeside home” on Lake Douglas. The above images taken in fall 1970, winter 1970, spring 1971, and summer 1971 focus on the same stand pipe within the lake to illustrate the drastic changes in water levels the reservoir experienced as the seasons changed. UFBDA members showed these images to other regional groups around 100 times in a slideshow presentation and the group’s corresponding secretary, Martha Boswell claimed that the winter image with snow on the bottom of lake douglas was particularly “damming.”*
*Willis A. Eggler, “A Statement on the Proposed Mills River TVA Dam,” August 2, 1971; Upper French Broad Defense Association, “Impact of the Proposed TVA Project on Mills River and the Upper French Broad Valley,” folder 6, box 3, all in UFBDA Records WRA
*Willis A. Eggler, “A Statement on the Proposed Mills River TVA Dam,” August 2, 1971; Upper French Broad Defense Association, “Impact of the Proposed TVA Project on Mills River and the Upper French Broad Valley,” folder 6, box 3, all in UFBDA Records WRA
The UFBDA's Political Alliances
In order to halt the TVA project, the UFBDA realized they had to increase the strength of their tactics, either legally or politically. Knowing their budget of $6,500 probably couldn’t pay too may court and legal fees, the group chose to fight the TVA through politics. The political tactics of the UFBDA clearly illustrate their knowledge of contemporary changes in political policy. On a national scale during this time period, former President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was transitioning out of office and President Nixon was settling in, ushering in an era of decreased federal spending. This new political tide of fiscal conservation targeted many of LBJ’s Great Society projects and since the Great Society was seen as the ugly step-child of the New Deal, the project that created the TVA; TVA spending easily became an easy target for budget cuts. The UFBDA were aware of this change in political tide and for the first time in 80 years, three western North Carolina counties rallied around, and elected a republican for the state house, representative Charles Taylor. In Transylvania county, the “Dam Fighters” organized the “Democrats for Taylor” grassroots organization to help the young republican get elected. Taylor remained a vigilant advocate for the UFBDA and was in fact the only political figure to support the UFBDA's fight against TVA.* Without any democratic allies, the UFBDA decided to support a new political candidate, one that in accordance with national political changes, was committed to cutting TVA’s funding.
*Martha Gash Boswell Interview by Ron Holland, Brevard, NC, October 11, 1983, pp. 21-22, folder 4, box 3, UFBDA Records WRA. |
UFBDA Members at a political rally at Asheville Regional Airport. Image from Western Regional Archives.
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Aerial View of Stream Channelization in East Tennessee, ca. 1970
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Stream ChannelizationUFBDA’s relationship with Charles Taylor was extremely fruitful. Taylor added an addendum to a bill within the state legislature of NC which stated that any development project involving stream channelization must be subjected to a public hearing within the affected counties. This aerial image (left) from east Tennessee illustrates channelized, what UFBDA members referred to as “not just a ditch, but a dirty ditch.” Stream channelization, or the transformation of a stream's natural meandering into a more linear flow, comes with many severe environmental costs including: deforestation and a dramatic increase in soil erosion and stream turbidity, both of which make it difficult for aquatic species to live. This process would have seriously damaged the region’s trout populations and trout fishing opportunities. Taylor’s addendum regarding public hearings and stream channelization was beneficial for the western North Carolina landscape as well as the UFBDA’s overall fight against TVA.*
*UFBDA, “Impact of the Proposed TVA Project,” 1:189-249, folder 7, box 3, UFBDA Records WRA. |
The Hall Blossomed YellowThanks to Representative Taylor’s addendum, there was a hearing regarding TVA's plan for the region at the University of North Carolina at Asheville beginning on August 31, 1971 which carried on for three full days. The images on the right were taken within the hearing and illustrate UFBDA members and supporters wearing yellow scarves. These scarves, embroidered with “UFBDA” often got the group confused with the boy scouts, but were used to illustrate that more then two-thirds of all hearing attendees supported the UFBDA. According to one UFBDA member, thanks to these scarves, “the hall blossomed yellow” at the UNCA hearing. This hearing was significant not only because it illustrated the UFBDA majority but also because it highlighted the inadequacies of the TVA’s environmental impact statement. Repeatedly the pro-UFBDA speakers at this hearing emphasized that TVA’s environmental impact statement covered only one of the project’s 14 dams, and neglected to include the detrimental effects of many of the project’s components including stream channelization. Highlighting inadequacies in the environmental impact statement was extremely important because of a new national policy, the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This act required detailed environmental impact statements for any federal project which would alter the natural environment. NEPA mandated that environmental statements include any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided, possible alternatives to the project, the relationship between short-term use of the landscape and the long-term maintenance and any irreversible commitments of resources involved in the project.* By illustrating that TVA’s environmental impact statement did not contain many of these required elements, the UFBDA successfully harnessed the new momentum from this national policy change to combat their opponent, TVA.
*Martha Gash Boswell, “Grassroots Along the Upper French Broad,” 20, folder 13, box 2, UFBDA Records WRA. |
TVA Hearing at UNCA, August 31, 1971. Images from Western Regional Archives.
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Adequate Local Support and Commitment
No Longer Exists
Governor Robert Scott critiquing TVA's plan at the Asheville Airport, 1971. Image from Western Regional Archives.
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The UNCA hearing greatly contributed to the termintation of TVA’s plan. Less than one month after the hearing, North Carolina Governor Robert Scott issued a public statement condemning TVA’s environmental impact statement as inadequate and mentioning UFBDA members directly saying that TVA must craft a new statement which would include the “objections of the citizens in the Upper French Broad area who until lately have seemingly not had much opportunity to be heard.” UFBDA members had never previously enjoyed the support of such a prestigious political leader and this only brought about more success for the UFBDA. The group’s use of politics continued to aid their efforts in the election of 1972, where they elected three new county commissioners in Transylvania county who vehemently opposed the TVA. The region’s county commissioners had often been a source of support for TVA, and with new officials in these positions who were set on working to “keep TVA out of WNC,” two weeks later, TVA released a statement that the project would require the full support of local government and since “adequate local support and commitment no longer exists” the project was being withdrawn. A TVA official stated that with the growing concern over environmental protection, “there has been an inevitable erosion of interest” in the project by local government.*
*B. W. Kenworthy, “TVA Drops Plan,” New York Times, November 17, 1972. |
North Fork of the Mills River, western North Carolina. Image from Western Regional Archives.
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The UFBDA's LegacyAfter the TVA project was withdrawn in 1972, there was some debate among UFBDA members about what should be done with their organization. The group ultimately decided to turn their remaining funds over to the French Broad River Week Program which was sponsored by the French Broad River Foundation, a non-profit created to champion all 117 miles of the river. In 1989, members of the French Broad River Foundation collaborated with members of Asheville Chamber of Commerce to form RiverLink, an environmental group that is still vibrant and active today. The UFBDA not only led the way for other environmental organizations in western North Carolina, but somewhat mended their relationship with TVA. TVA bought a piece of land on Greenville Highway within Transylvania County as a memorial park for one of UFBDA’s recently deceased members, even presenting UFBDA members with a plaque at the opening of the park. According to one UFBDA member, the conclusion of UFBDA’s fight with TVA was such that “we lost our enemy, the enemy became a treasured friend.”*
*Martha Gash Boswell Interview by Ron Holland, Brevard, NC, October 11, 1983, pp. 21-22, folder 4, box 3, UFBDA Records, WRA. |