Student group assists National Park Service with dam removal

By ASU News Service

The Appalachian State University Chapter of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway spent a recent Saturday helping National Park Service employees remove debris from a dismantled dam at Sims Creek.

Chapter members Gwyn O’Leary, Kayoua Lee, Lindsay Steinmann, Whitney Crossen, Nathaniel Smathers, Connor Rice, Nate Warren, Tim Hefflinger, Tyler Laminack, Jackson Miller and faculty advisor Heather Paige Preston spent three hours removing buckets of concrete chips and larger pieces of the dam in a volunteer effort that saved the National Park Service approximately $5,000.

“It was the hardest work we’ve completed, but it was certainly worth it,” said Appalachian Friends president Nathaniel Smathers.

Debris from the dam, a structure thought by park service personnel to be built by the Sims family more than 50 years ago, was carried out by hand and in wheelbarrows along the trail bordering Sims Pond at Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 296.

“The park service received a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have the dam removed to restore the creek to its natural flow for the benefit of the fish,” said Bob Cherry, wildlife biologist for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The contractor wanted an additional $5,000 to remove the debris, Cherry said, so parkway personnel turned to Appalachian’s Blue Ridge Parkway Liaison Office for help.

The Appalachian Chapter of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway answered the call, the first student organization to do so, Cherry said.

It was a love of the Blue Ridge Parkway that prompted students in a Department of Communication class at Appalachian to create the campus organization during the fall 2007 semester. Since then, the club has grown to include majors as varied as business, recreational management, elementary education and criminal justice.

“The varied backgrounds of the members show how much the Blue Ridge Parkway adds to the quality of students’ lives,” said Preston. “They love the resources the parkway provides and are dedicated to helping preserve and protect it for everyone’s use.”

Appalachian Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a student-run club dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway. Members promote the natural beauty, ecological vitality and cultural distinctiveness of the parkway through volunteer services and special events.

For more information about Appalachian Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, contact Preston at 828-262-2449 or prestonhp@appstate.edu.