The Right Energy Can Fuel a Strong Revival

Vermont’s Chief Recovery Officer, Douglas Farnham, speaks to a crowd at Hi-Wire Brewing Company.

When Vermont flood recovery experts visited Buncombe County recently, they brought with them plenty of advice about the nuts and bolts of disaster restoration and resilience – land use and floodplain regulations, infrastructure, business support and government buyouts, just to cite a few. But they also brought something else, just as important:

Encouragement.

“Seeing how many groups you have working on recovery together, you have all the ingredients,” said Douglas Farnham, Chief Recovery Officer for the State of Vermont. “You’re about eight months after, and you’re not behind right now. I see a lot of great energy and people having the right conversations.”

Farnham was visiting WNC along with Richard Amore, a disaster recovery and community resilience expert at the University of Vermont. Both were guests of Thrive Asheville for its “Lessons for the Recovery” series, in which Thrive has welcomed experts from other disaster-ravaged cities in the U.S. and abroad to convey wisdom and lessons learned. The June 3 event at Hi-Wire Brewing was co-sponsored by Mountain Biz Works.

Amore’s and Farnham’s insights are based on their first-hand experience with Hurricane Irene in 2011 and record-setting floods in 2023 and 2024.

They emphasized the need to invest in floodplain restoration – a strategy that paid off significantly for flood-prone communities in Vermont. Their work on numerous projects resulted in better stormwater management and slower runoff. In the case of every mitigation project after Irene, they noted, flooding was reduced in subsequent severe storm events, saving billions of dollars in potential damage. In one restoration effort, for example, stormwater was allowed to spread out over a 12-acre site, reducing the speed of the flow so it would cause less destruction downstream. The project cost about $2 million, but it paid off substantially in terms of damage prevention when the site flooded again several years after the hurricane.

Projects like these affect entire communities, Farnham and Amore note. They influence where people live, shop, travel, and recreate. They require significant time and money to plan and develop. Consequently, meaningful community commitment and partnerships are essential.

 In addition to the Hi-Wire gathering on June 3, Farnham and Amore also met with local elected officials and city/county staff, legacy neighborhood advocates, business groups and nonprofits. The two also toured storm-damaged areas of Swannanoa.

Kim McGuire, Thrive’s board chair, underscored the importance of the lessons learned from the guests. "It is truly heartening to see the level of energy among folks who turned out to learn from our Vermont colleagues about how to implement a recovery that respects our rivers and builds back our local economy,” she said. “We have a long road ahead but by working together we are finding the resources and commitment to keep going strong."

The Vermont visitors wrapped up their comments with further encouragement for their audience:

“Don’t forget to catalog and celebrate your wins – even your small ones,” Farnham said. “You’re moving beyond the survival mode. You’re all coming at it from a really good place.”

And lastly, as Amore says, give grace to those who are working with you: “Live by the Golden Rule: Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”