The Western North Carolina Alliance is celebrating 25 years of environmental activism at its annual membership meeting on Aug. 11, Saturday, at the Memorial United Methodist Church in west Macon.

Dr. Bill McLarney, a passionate defender of aquatic diversity and biotic integrity in the Little Tennessee River Basin, will present the keynote address on the relevance of community activism in our lives. He has also been recognized by the United Nations for his 30 years of biological conservation work in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica, for which he received the U.N.’s “Equator” Award. He now divides his time between Macon County, Costa Rica, and Panama. His work often involves the voluntary efforts of local citizens. Hundreds of volunteers have been involved in his biomonitoring projects (since 1994) in the Little Tennessee River and its tributaries. The WNC Alliance was the first regional environmental organization to support his work on the Little Tennessee.

Other presentations will include recent success stories from local activists and their attempts to preserve community. Thomas Crow, from Tuckasegee and the author of “Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods,” will discuss his community’s efforts to stop a rock quarry.

Cindy Anthony, from Tilley Creek, never considered herself an activist until her historic family farmstead was threatened by a private shooting range.

Citizen activism in preserving the Tuckasegee River corridor between Dillsboro and Webster from a proposed Sylva Bypass freeway will also be highlighted.

According to Jody Flemming, Executive Director of WNCA, “The Alliance has always been about the preservation of mountain communities and their natural resources. We’ve been fighting the same battle[ s] over the past 25 years and without the incredible work of ordinary citizens our mountain landscape would be vastly altered today.”

The day will also celebrate the work of Jim and Esther Cunningham of the Carson community. They were some of the original founders of the Alliance in 1982 when citizens forced the U.S. Forest Service to alter its management policy that allowed drilling for oil and gas in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests — and won.

The Cunningham Award has been awarded annually (since 1986) to WNCA members for outstanding conservation achievement. There will be a panel discussion by previous Cunningham winners regarding the diverse range of issues the Alliance has undertaken in the past 25 years.

The annual meeting is open to the general public. Food and refreshments will be provided. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. The cost for WNCA members is $7/ for non-members $10. For further information, call (828) 258-8737 or (828) 371-0527.