River of Love
“I’m in the water business,” was Andy Hill’s quick-witted response a few months ago when we told him he had to be a business owner to be an #InstaBoonie. Well, we finally relented. The new year brings new ideas, goals, and interesting people. Our 2019 goal is to seek out leaders of the High Country and share their stories. So, much to his (and our) delight, today’s story is brought to us by one of our favorite people on the planet, Andy Hill, the High Country Regional Director of MountainTrue and (best job title ever), the Watauga Riverkeeper.
What is a Riverkeeper – and why does that job title sound like a character from The Lord of The Rings? We’ll let Andy explain it for you. “As the Riverkeeper, I am the spokesperson, advocate and protector for the Watauga River watershed. Some days we’re down in Raleigh lobbying the General Assembly for clean water protection. Some days we’re out monitoring water quality, taking bacteria samples. And some days we’re doing our Kids in the Creek program, which is environmental education and outreach.”
MountainTrue is home to a total of four such mythical creatures; the Green Riverkeeper, Broad Riverkeeper, French Broad Riverkeeper, and Watauga Riverkeeper. With five offices across Western North Carolina, MountainTrue is officially the oldest environmentally focused non-profit in the state.
But their work and outreach doesn’t only stay local. This past year, Andy traveled abroad to Kenya and Uganda. “We have a global conference every other year, and we met some riverkeepers and concerned citizens from Uganda and Kenya who were interested in strengthening their riverkeeper programs.” Andy explained. “So I and my colleague, Hartwell, the French Broad Riverkeeper, raised money to purchase water quality equipment to help them build a lab and create a bacterial monitoring program and install some drinking water wells.”
When asked where all of this passion for the aquatic environment comes from, Andy said it first blossomed right here in Boone. Originally from Hickory Flat, Georgia, Andy and his family would drive up to visit the High Country for summer vacations. He recalls his happiest memories in the water up here. This love for the water took him to Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico, owned by the Turner Foundation, Inc. He arrived at the Ranch a fly fishing guide, but left a future riverkeeper. The following year he went to Appalachian State University for a masters in Outdoor Program Administration, and settled down in Boone full time. “I made my living as a fly fishing guide, environmental educator and trip leader, and we spent all of our time utilizing the resource. As the years have gone by, I started to see ways that we could give back through different service projects and it soon became my full time passion and career.”
Andy is giving back to his community by doing what he loves best. With the full support of his wife Betty, daughter Willa, and MountainTrue volunteer Aeon (pictured with Andy above), he is also currently training his new sidekick, Rosie, to detect pollution in the environment. Check out our Facebook page to take a peek at this professional pup’s first day on the job!