News

Duke donates $100k for French Broad headwaters preservation

By Bill Moss, Published: March 27, 2015

Duke Energy Water Resources Fund has donated $100,000 to the Conservation Fund to buy more land to protect the headwaters of the French Broad River in Transylvania County.

"Duke Energy's Water Resources Fund grant will help the Conservation Fund and the N.C. Forest Service protect the headwaters of the East Fork of the French Broad River and expand Headwaters State Forest in Transylvania County," Bill Holman, North Carolina state director for the Conservation Fund, said in a news release. "We greatly appreciate their support. We're excited that Duke Energy has made an ongoing commitment to invest in conserving our water resources."

The Conservation Fund has transferred more than 4,200 acres of the East Fork Headwaters property to the N.C. Forest Service, and this grant will help additional acquisitions for the future Headwaters State Forest. The fund was among 15 organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia to share in $1 million worth of grants from the new Water Resources Fund. The fund is a $10 million, multi-year commitment from Duke Energy to help local nonprofits continue to protect and improve the environment, including the waterways our communities appreciate and use year round across the Carolinas and neighboring states.