I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and to thank everyone who
donated their time and/or financial support to help the Neuse River
Foundation (NRF) better protect Falls Lake and the Neuse River. We had
a very busy year in 2007, but I suspect 2008 will be a break out year
for NRF.

As we enter 2008, it is important to reflect on the progress we have
made. Since I was hired as the Upper Neuse Riverkeeper in 2001 as the
lone employee of our Upper Neuse Office, we have grown to a dedicated
staff of five people operating out of the Raleigh office (3 in New
Bern). We have increased our membership by over 600 new members in the
last year alone. Welcome!

NRF is now working with leading scientists to address PCB
contamination in Lake Crabtree and nutrient pollution issues affecting
the Neuse River and Falls Lake. We are working with attorneys and the
Duke Law School (the newly-formed Duke Environmental Litigation
Clinic, which NRF played an important role in creating) to increase
our litigation efforts to ensure polluters comply with the federal
Clean Water Act. NRF is about to launch a massive state wide
initiative called Muddy Water Watch Citizen Patrols to combat sediment
pollution--the state's number one water pollution problem (visit
www.muddywaterwatch.org).

Our efforts in river protection was also recognized by two prestigious
awards in 2007:
The Governor's Award for Conservation Organization of the Year by the
NC Wildlife Federation; and the Dan Wilkinson Conservation
Communication Award from Wake County and WRAL. We also sadly learned
that the Neuse River was listed by American Rivers in 2007 as one of
the Nation's Top Ten Most Endangered Rivers due to pollution impacts
from large scale industrial hog operations and rapid development
occurring throughout the entire Neuse River Basin.

Needless to say, we still have a lot of work to do, but we will need
your continued support if we are to be successful. Thanks again for
all your help and please join us for our membership appreciation party
at Orvis on January 9th and for our Riverkeeper Film Festival on the
January 19th. Please visit our website www.neuseriverkeepers.org for
details. I have provided an updated accomplishments list below.

Have a Happy New Year!

Dean Naujoks
Upper Neuse Riverkeeper
Neuse River Foundation

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NEUSE RIVER FOUNDATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Neuse River Foundation recently celebrated our 27th year of river
research and protection. NRF received the North Carolina Wildlife
Federation Governor's Achievement Award for the 2006 Conservation
Organization of the Year. NRF has a long history of Riverkeepers® who
have provided constant vigilance and a strong voice for the protection
of the Neuse River under the certification of the Waterkeeper®
Alliance.

WHAT WE ARE PROUDEST OF

* The Neuse River Foundation recently received the Dan Wilkinson
Conservation Communication Award from Wake County and WRAL TV. The
award recognizes an individual, business or organization for its
leadership in excellence for communicating the message of natural
resource stewardship to the Triangle community.

* In 2002, NRF Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks uncovered 20 violations at
Raleigh's sewage treatment plant--the largest discharger to the Neuse
River. According to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, "it was the
Riverkeeper who alerted us to extensive problems which existed at our
waste treatment plant, problems which had not been brought to our
attention by then plant management." Since 2003, Raleigh has invested
more than $40 million in sewage plant upgrades and provided free
drinking water to 32 families as a result of wells contamination from
the over application of sludge by Raleigh Public Utilities.

* In 2000 and 2003, NRF challenged 25 sewage discharge permits of
repeat violators to enforce compliance with the Clean Water Act,
leading to additional provisions (pollution controls) in 22 out of the
25 permits challenged. There are now TEN discharge pipes that are no
longer discharging effluent to the river or whose direct discharge
will soon be eliminated, due to the direct actions of the NRF. In
March 2006, NRF obtained a commitment from Raleigh to eliminate sludge
and chemical discharges from Raleigh's Water Treatment Plant to Falls
Lake--a drinking water supply for over 400,000 Wake County citizens.

* Our annual Neuse River Clean-up, which spans 80 river miles from
Falls Dam to below Smithfield, has to date encouraged 1,037 citizens
to take a more active role in cleaning up the Neuse River. More than
75,000 pounds of trash has been removed from the Neuse River and all
access points in the last five years alone. It has become the largest
single-river clean-up event in the state.

* The NRF volunteer Air Force has documented hundreds of Clean Water
Act violations on NC hog farms. The illegal spraying of raw waste has
helped bring national attention to the unethical practices of the hog
industry, resulting in important legal actions and reforms. In
January 2006 NRF, with the help of Waterkeeper Alliance, reached a
settlement agreement with Smithfield Foods--changing waste disposal
practices on 275 NC hog farms.

* In 2004, NRF Riverkeepers defeated the largest pollution trade ever
proposed for US waters by preventing the Town of Butner from
discharging up to 61,130 lbs/yr of additional nitrogen into Falls
Lake. NRF helped generate more than 1,000 public comments opposing
the plan and turned out more than 200 people at two public hearings.
More importantly, a pollution reduction strategy is now being
developed for Falls Lake, rather than discharging additional
pollutants into one of the most important drinking water reservoirs in
NC.

* As a result of recent attention on Falls Lake, Raleigh Mayor Charles
Meeker made the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative a key platform
issue for his 2005 re-election campaign. NRF Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks
encouraged the city to work with local and state-wide land trusts on a
land acquisition plan to protect water quality in the entire upper
Neuse watershed. Raleigh has since invested $2 million into the plan.

* In 2005, NRF developed an educational project called "Junior
Riverkeepers" in conjunction with Craven County Schools and the NC
State University's Aquatic Lab to conduct water quality monitoring and
training for all Craven County eighth grade students and teachers.
2,053 students have participated in the program in just two years.
This program is slated to be introduced to Wake County schools in 2009
under its new name, Neuse RiverKids.

* NRF actively recruited 150 of the 450 constituents who've attended
Clean Water Lobby Day at the General Assembly over the last three
years. NRF Riverkeepers frequently provide NC environmental lobbyists
with technical water quality information from local districts which
are relevant to NC legislators. Also, NRF Riverkeepers annually
attend American River's Clean Water Lobby Days in Washington DC,
providing local constituent representation on numerous clean water
issues to supplement efforts of national groups.

* NRF was instrumental in working with the development community to
implement perhaps the best stormwater ordinance in the state (using
Low Impact Development Practices and volume control), which will help
control polluted runoff--fertilizers, oil, gas and pet waste--from
further degrading the Neuse River. This is a positive step for
controlling pollution impacts from the anticipated 500,000 people who
will move to Wake County over the next 20 years and will serve as a
model ordinance for other communities in NC.

* NRF was successful in defeating a very bad proposal in the Fall of
2006, and this led to a big win for the Neuse River in 2007. The City
of Raleigh attempted to reclassify a section of the river, essentially
downgrading water quality protections for 10,000 acres just below
Falls Dam in the Richland Creek/Upper Neuse River watershed. Our
grassroots opposition to this plan led to a favorable ruling by the
Environmental Management Commission which requires the city to
implement more stringent storm water controls for all new development,
with wider 100-foot buffers along the main stem of the river as well
as all perennial streams.


"The [Upper Neuse Clean Water] Initiative is an exciting new
partnership effort to protect drinking water quality by conserving
land along the streams and wetlands that feed water supply
reservoirs. The genesis for the idea began with the Neuse River
Foundation's Dean Naujoks, who saw the value of using land
preservation to protect water quality, and helped bring together North
Carolina land trusts and local governments to pursue a coordinated
conservation strategy."

Reid Wilson, Executive Director, Conservation Trust for North Carolina

"The Neuse River Foundation has been of great assistance to the City
of Raleigh in the last three years bringing key issues to our
attention and in helping resolve environmental problems...the
Riverkeeper suggested the idea of having land trusts acquire stream
buffers in the Falls Lake Watershed in order to preserve water
quality."

Charles Meeker, Mayor of Raleigh



--Less than 1% of all the water on the earth is available fresh water--