James River Association
Guardians of America’s Founding River
In 1976, it appeared that America’s founding river was destined to die a slow death from poisoning due to industrial and sewage discharge, most notably the pesticide Kepone. As a result, fishing was banned in a wide section of the James. This ban would be enforced for the next 13 years, but the stigma of a dirty, dangerous river would last even longer.
JRA enlisted more than 700 local volunteers for its 2008 Extreme Stream Makeover, a weeklong watershed restoration project.
That same year, a group of concerned citizens formed the Lower James River Association to bring attention to the river’s problems and to improve its health. Today, as the James River Association, this nonprofit member-supported organization continues to work diligently -- and creatively -- to fulfill its mission to restore and protect the entire length of the river for future generations to enjoy. JRA remains the only organization in the state devoted solely to the protection of the James River from its headwaters to its mouth.
It’s a big mission, and the potential to bring about change is equally enormous. Approximately one-third of all Virginians live within the vast James River watershed, an area that stretches over 340 miles from the river’s source in the Allegheny Mountains to its mouth in the Chesapeake Bay and includes more than 15,000 miles of tributaries. Because those individuals can have a direct impact on the health of the James River, it is JRA’s goal to make each one of them a good steward of their portion of the watershed. Knowing that everyone can relate to the river is some personal way, JRA carries out its conservation work through four core programs: Education and Outreach; River Advocacy; Watershed Restoration; and the Riverkeeper program.
Since 2005 when Bill Street joined JRA as executive director, the organization has built on its long track record of success, strengthened its mission and expanded its reach through innovative programs designed to engage the public, and also by partnering with state and local conservation organizations. Last fall’s Extreme Stream Makeover project is a good example of this cooperative strength.
The weeklong watershed restoration project was designed and coordinated by JRA’s staff to target Horsepen Branch, a degraded urban watershed in Henrico County. Working in cooperation with four area garden clubs, eight schools, three local government agencies, three other nonprofit organizations and a church located within the watershed, JRA mobilized more than 700 volunteers to plant 2,500 trees, shrubs and native plants; construct five rain gardens and bioretention areas; pick up trash; and restore a riparian buffer along 1.8 miles of the streambed. Technical assistance from the Center for Watershed Protection, Henrico County, Henricopolis SWCD and Draper Aden Association, as well as financial support from Altria, Dominion, Honeywell and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, among others, made the project possible. The next Extreme Stream Makeover is planned for Lynchburg in October 2009.
Making long-term changes to protect the James River is perhaps what JRA does best. Through its advocacy work, JRA has been instrumental in being about policy change for the good of the river. This has included a three-year effort to strengthen stormwater management regulations and through a partnership of agricultural and conservation groups, increasing appropriations for agricultural best management practices (BMPs) to $20 million at a time when many other items were being cut from the budget.
Change for the better is also happening through Building a Cleaner James, a JRA initiative that offers rapidly urbanizing counties a systematic procedure for evaluating and updating their local building codes and ordinances to incorporate Low Impact Development (LID) practices that will limit polluted stormwater runoff from construction sites and new development.
To help young people build a relationship with the natural world, JRA’s Education and Outreach initiatives include an outdoor program call P.E.E.P., short for Presquile Environmental Education Program. P.E.E.P. provides underserved, urban youngsters in grades 6 through 10 with a unique, memorable outdoor experience at Presquile National Wildlife Refuge. During an overnight camping trip on isolated Presquile Island, the young participants learn about river ecology and conservation in a fun and challenging program that also meets state SOL requirements. For many of these young campers, this is their first real exposure to the natural world. Throughout the year JRA also partners with children’s museums and nature centers to offer outdoor programs that connect children to the river and make a lasting, lifelong impression.
Perhaps the mostly visible ambassadors of JRA are its two Riverkeepers. Dividing the river at its fall line, David Sligh patrols the Upper James, while Chuck Frederickson keeps an eye on the tidal Lower James. The Riverkeepers provide a year-round on the water presence, monitoring water quality, identifying pollution threats and ensuring that solutions are carried out effectively and in a timely manner.
JRA plays a major role in educating the public about the James River. In its biennial State of the James report, which is currently being updated for 2009, JRA evaluates the critical factors of pollution, wildlife habitats and restoration actions using a report card grading system to which everyone can relate. In the last report, the James River received a grade of C+ or an overall 52 percent. Not yet where JRA wants it to be, but considerably better than it was in 1976!
People throughout the watershed are again turning to the James River for recreation and renewal. And thanks to JRA, they are seeing this precious natural resource in a new light. They see themselves as guardians of the river and are taking a personal stake in its health and its future. For more information on the James River Association, to read the State of the James Report, or to find volunteer opportunities relating to the James River, visit www.JamesRiverAssociation.org.
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