Surprise: It turns out that driving all that heavy machinery up and down the middle of the Green River, and ripping out all those fallen trees may have made things worse, not better. At least, in some places and in some circumstances, from an ecological perspective.

Almost year after Helene, it's probably time to start preparing for the next storm, and how we can avoid making the same mistakes again. In this episode, Conserving Carolina aquatic biologist Hans Lohmeyer shares his thoughts on how we can do better.

Notes:

• Hans Lohmeyer at Conserving Carolina
• Damage to WNC
• The government stepped in to clean up a disaster in North Carolina. Then they created another one. Vox, July 23, 2025.
• Army Core of Engineers response