Hiwassee Watershed Gala Auction 2022

This auction and the associated Watershed Gala event on April 28th support the MountainTrue western regional office's clean water programs. Our flagship activity locally is our volunteer water quality monitoring program through Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. We provide equipment, tools, and training for 48 volunteers who sample water chemistry and E. coli monthly at 51 locations on streams and rivers throughout Towns & Union counties in north Georgia and Clay & Cherokee counties in NC. We also collect E. coli samples weekly at 10 popular public swimming areas on our lakes from Memorial Day to Labor Day every summer, reporting the results to the international Swim Guide website. We use these data to find and resolve water quality problems and to champion clean water policies in the Southern Blue Ridge.

OUR MISSION: MountainTrue champions resilient forests, clean waters and healthy communities in the Southern Blue Ridge. mountaintrue.org

OUR VISION: MountainTrue envisions thriving communities in our mountain region that are connected to and help sustain both each other and our natural environment. To achieve this, MountainTrue fosters and empowers residents throughout the region to engage in community planning, policy and project advocacy, and on-the-ground projects.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
We value social and environmental justice and believe that all people have the right to live in healthy communities. We are committed to working towards vibrant, connected, equitable communities where everyone can enjoy lives that are healthy, full of opportunity, free from oppression, and enriched by our region’s natural environment.

We value the integrity of natural systems – air, land, water, and native plants and animals – and believe in protecting and restoring them for the benefit of all generations.

We value mountain communities that are vibrant, livable, and respectful of their connection to and dependence on the region’s natural environment.

We value the unique environment of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains and believe our regional perspective enhances both regional and community-based solutions to shared problems.

We value community engagement in principled advocacy and believe both sound public policy and responsible individual actions are needed to protect both our natural environment and the communities we live in.

We value collaboration and believe working with diverse constituencies is fundamental to MountainTrue’s success.

We value integrity, equity, expertise, flexibility, accountability, and transparency in all activities and operations.