Program Meeting: Yadkin River Update by Edgar Miller, Yadkin RiverKeeper

Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) Edgar Miller will update the NC Sierra Club Foothills Chapter on the state of the Yadkin River and YRK's efforts to maintain and improve water quality in the Yadkin Pee Dee watershed. Miller will discuss the role of waterkeeper organizations in protecting water resources, the history and importance of the Yadkin River to the region and state, current threats to water quality and opportunities to join YRK for paddles and cleanups on the Yadkin.

Join us at 6:45 in the visitor center for our social and refreshments. We will have announcements at 7:00 followed by our program.

Edgar Miller became executive director of the Winston-Salem based Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) in October 2018 and the Riverkeeper/executive director on July 1, 2021. Yadkin Riverkeeper is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and enhance the Yadkin River and its lakes and tributaries through education, advocacy, and action. As the Yadkin Riverkeeper, Edgar leads YRK’s efforts to improve water quality throughout the Yadkin Pee Dee River Watershed.
Prior to working with Yadkin Riverkeeper, Miller served as the director of government relations for the Raleigh-based Conservation Trust for North Carolina for 17 years. As a registered lobbyist he represented NC land trusts before the NC General Assembly and US Congress advocating for increased conservation funding and tax incentives. He also served on the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund from 2006-2018 and the NC Local Foods Advisory Council from 2015-2018. He is a former board member of the Tourism Recreation Investment Partnership (TRIP) for Davidson County, serving as president between 2011-2020.
In that role, he led efforts to establish the Yadkin River Park and Daniel Boone Heritage Canoe Trail on the Yadkin River and improve access to and appreciation of the Yadkin River in Davidson County. He helped establish the Davidson County Local Food Network and Keep Davidson County Beautiful and is the coordinator of the First Reformed United Church of Christ Community Garden in Uptown Lexington. He lives south of Lexington, in the Abbotts Creek watershed, with his wife Kivi. He has two daughters, Jianna, a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill and Avalon, a junior studying science, technology and society at NC State University.
Miller holds a BA in Botany from Duke University and a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.