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Appalachian RC&D describes ongoing farm and watershed recovery after Hurricane Helene
Summary
Appalachian RC&D Council presented its use of roughly $443,000 in governor's response and recovery funds for farm assistance, soil reclamation and streambank stabilization following Hurricane Helene, and said partners expect a multi‑year recovery effort affecting about 1,300 farms in the watershed.
Emily Bidgood of the Appalachian RC&D Council described ongoing recovery work in Northeast Tennessee after Hurricane Helene. Bidgood said the nonprofit was awarded approximately $443,000 in governor's response and recovery funds and is using those funds to provide direct assistance to farmers for repairs, to support scientific soil reclamation work where fields are covered in sand or silt, and to stabilize streambanks. She emphasized broad partner engagement from UT Extension, TVA, the Nature Conservancy and federal partners.
Bidgood stressed the scale of the disaster and the need for sustained funding and long‑term work to keep family farms viable: an estimated 1,300 farms in the watershed were flooded. She asked legislators not to forget the region as recovery continues and noted that science‑based remediation and community coordination are already producing measurable progress.
