Ribbon Cutting for the Lower Hardin Creek Restoration Project

Ribbon Cutting for the Lower Hardin Creek Restoration Project

Town of Boone, North Carolina— On June 23rd, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., the Town of Boone will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lower Hardin Creek Restoration Project. Attendees can meet in the Watauga High School Parking Lot near the football field starting at 1pm. Participants can either walk down or there will be shuttle service available to the event site.

After many years of planning and grant writing, the Town of Boone, in partnership with New River Conservancy, Watauga County, the Watauga County School System, and the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, began construction of the Lower Hardin Creek Restoration Project in June 2024. The project marked a significant step toward restoring ecological balance in the area. It successfully restored 2,500 feet of Hardin Creek by stabilizing the stream bed, reconnecting the stream to its natural floodway, and enhancing aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitats.

More than just an environmental initiative, the project also prioritized community resilience and future sustainability. A key feature of the restoration was constructing a new bridge spanning the newly created floodway, protecting critical infrastructure from potential flood damage. This project helped mitigate further flood damage to the area during Hurricane Helene. “This project not only survived Helene, it has already positively impacted both the local ecosystem and the Boone community. It is a testimony to how resilient natural systems can be in major storm events.” George Santucci, Sustainability and Special Projects Manager for the Town of Boone.

In addition to managing the project, New River Conservancy recruited approximately 50 volunteers to plant more than 6,000 trees and shrubs to ensure a robust and stable habitat. “Among other problems, unhealthy amounts of sediment from severe erosion brought Hardin Creek to an unhealthy state. With help and support from great partners we have restored this tributary of the New River back into a functional stream that is able to mitigate flooding and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. We look forward to partnering with the Town of Boone and
North Carolina Land and Water Fund on other stream restoration projects to create a more sustainable and better future for the New River watershed.” – Joe Johnson, Director of Operations and Programs for the New River Conservancy.

Completed in June 2025, with the installation of the bridge, the Town of Boone has opened the Greenway Trail from the entrance at Daniel Boone Drive Extension to the Watauga High School Cross-Country field alongside the river.

For more information regarding this ceremony, please contact Laney Wise, Grants Coordinator/Communications, at (828) 268-6206 or la********@*********ne.net