“We are 100 percent terrified of the effect it’s going to have …”

Emily Lamar, vice president of marketing for the Saluda, N.C., local business association, regarding the massive swelling of the Green River and the impacts the environmental change will have on outdoor adventure tourism. A survey last year estimated that outdoor recreation in Western North Carolina has an annual economic impact of nearly $5 billion. (NPR — Oct. 17, 2024)