Wilma Dykeman wrote the book The French Broad in 1955, in which she described the river as defining the region as an economic and environmental engine. The French Broad is the second or third oldest river in the world. Wilma Dykeman was among the first writers in the USA to discuss the impacts of pollution on rivers and communities. She wrote The French Broad seven years before Rachel Carson wrote The Silent Spring , which is usually credited with awakening the environmental movement.

Karen Cragnolin, executive director of RiverLink said, “Somehow this wonderful Asheville woman understood sustainable development. She made us understand that for western North Carolina the environment is the economy. So it only seemed fitting to name this wonderful RiverWay after her. Wilma Dykeman, our native daughter, understood and explained to us the relationship between economic development and environmental protection.”

A new riverfront commission has been established as a joint County-City Commission. The River Commission is designed to focus on the river and help bring more resources to protect it as a destination for mixed-use, mixed-income development. The French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers are exciting melting pots where everyone can enjoy the river and live, work and play by the river.

For more information or to make a reservation for the presentation call us at 828-252-8474, ext 110 or email us at information@riverlink.org.