Humans have changed how the French Broad River flows and floods. Now, the Henderson County nonprofit Conserving Carolina is restoring it one property at a time. “During the flood that we experienced in Helene, the water was 12–15 feet above our heads right here,” Greg Jennings says, holding his hand above his head. “Which was much higher than we had ever observed before or would have expected.” Greg is standing in front of an oval-shaped body of water that connects to the nearby French Broad River, which flows north from North Carolina into Tennessee. We’re on a 70-acre property called Pleasant Grove, one of many sites owned by Henderson County-based land trust Conserving Carolina. Greg is an environmental engineer who’s worked with Conserving Carolina to restore the riverside property from a golf course back to its natural state, with the help of funding from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Henderson County branch of the Nor...