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Quick Links Conservation Strategies Program Milestones Places We Protect Clinch Valley Unthanks Cave Beech Grove Cliff Fletcher Ford Kyles Ford/Wallens Bend (Tenn.) Pendleton Island Freeman Island Grays/Semones Island Holbrook Cleveland Natural Area Brumley Mountain Clinch Valley Farms Roanoke Headwaters    Walnut Hill Preserve    Falls Ridge Preserve    Bottom Creek Gorge The Narrows Latest News The Conservancy's Rikemo Lodge,    overlooking the Clinch River, provides    an excellent base for exploring     southwestern Virginia's natural       treasures. Brad Kreps has been appointed as    Clinch Valley's new program director. Contact Information Brad Kreps Clinch Valley Program 146 East Main Street Abingdon, VA 24210 Phone: (276) 676-2209

Spanning 2,200 square miles in the remote mountains and valleys of southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, the Clinch Valley Program area comprises the watersheds of the Clinch, Powell, and Holston rivers. These last free-flowing rivers of the Tennessee River system harbor more at-risk fish and mussel species than any other river in the nation and the highest concentration of imperiled species in the mainland United States.

The Conservancy works to ensure the survival of these fragile lands and waters through creative local partnerships designed to enhance water quality, prevent toxic spills, and improve farming practices. Innovative strategies in the region include a pilot project for ecological restoration, reforestation, and carbon sequestration on coal mined lands, as well as the Conservation Forestry Program. The latter initiative fosters partnerships with private landowners to promote the economic productivity of working forests, while protecting the ecological health of the landscapes in which they occur.  

Threats

• incompatible agricultural practices
• incompatible forestry practices
• invasive species
• nonpoint source pollution

Plants

• Great Plains ladies tresses
• silky aster

Animals

• Olympia marble butterfly
• rough rabbitsfoot mussels
• rainbow mussels

Our Conservation Strategy
Guided by conservation science, the Conservancy works with a variety of partners to protect the forests, lakes, wetlands, and unique habitats of the Clinch Valley. Below are some of the ways we work:

• Land acquisition:
  We purchase land or interests in land and accept donations of land or easements from willing sellers and donors.
• Science-based conservation:
  The Conservancy recently partnered with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy to implement a pilot project for ecological restoration, reforestation, and carbon sequestration on coal mined lands.  

• Clinch River © Byron Jorjorian

  Land management:
  Our invasive species program is an example of how effective land management helps us accomplish our goals. Considered the second greatest threat to biodiversity, non-native, invasive plants spread quickly, disrupt natural cycles, and crowd out native species. We work in partnership with private landowners and non-governmental organizations to minimize the impacts. 
• Conservation easements:
  A conservation easement is a legal agreement, recorded with the deed, that restricts the type and amount of development that can take place on the land. The Conservancy is developing a unique partnership with local communities to protect privately owned forests.
• Education and outreach:
  We foster a conservation ethic and appreciation for nature through education and outreach. The Conservancy works to influence land-use planning and is helping local communities learn about development approaches that preserve local character, history, traditions, and, ultimately, the ecosystem itself.
• Help to shape public policies:
  The Conservancy has committed at least $10,000 in private funds toward a new state initiative, the Virginia Invasive Species Council, to combat the spread of invasive species and has joined a consortium of public and private groups to launch "VirginiaForever," a campaign to garner increased public support and state funding for conservation.
• Community-based conservation:
  The Conservancy has joined with hundreds of local partners to build a network of sustainable communities along the river and its tributaries to improve water quality through a variety of strategies.

Clinch Valley © Jon Golden

• 71% of habitat protected for Clinch Valley’s 31 federally threatened and endangered species.
• One of the most biologically diverse areas in United States.
• 20,000 acres enrolled in Conservation Forestry Program, promoting private-lands stewardship, compatible forestry, and model working forests.
• Partnerships to promote watershed protection and streambank restoration.
• Partnerships with public and private agencies to control invasive species.
• Created a freshwater-mussel cultivation facility at Cleveland Island Preserve to restore rainbow mussels.