Our Partners

Good conservation is always a partnership between people and the land. The landowners we work with, the members who support us, and the localities, agencies, and other groups who join in these projects are all essential to successful conservation. We could never do this work alone.

Below is a short list of some of the organizations we work with regularly. Many are active partners in our projects, others are very useful sources for information and connections.

Our partners in land protection

Virginia Outdoors Foundation
www.vofonline.org
VCC shares responsibility for a number of conservation easements with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, whose mission is "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth." VOF holds easements on over 286,000 acres in 86 local jurisdictions, including over 42,000 acres in the VCC region.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts
VCC is proud to work with the Headwaters, Natural Bridge, and Lord Fairfax Soil and Water Conservation Districts to co-hold important easements on 646 acres of land along rivers and streams in the Shenandoah and Upper James river watersheds.

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
www.shenandoahatwar.org
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation works to protect 10 battlefields in the National Historic District through land and conservation easement acquisition and preservation planning.

The Conservation Fund
www.conservationfund.org
Much of VCC's work is built around principles detailed in Better Models for Development in the Shenandoah Valley, a book we produced in partnership with The Conservation Fund, the nation’s foremost environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting America’s most important landscapes and waterways.

Other Land Use Organizations in the Region

Rockbridge Area Conservation Council
http://organizations.rockbridge.net/racc/
Promotes wise stewardship of natural and cultural resources through education, advocacy, and action in order to protect and enhance the quality of life for present and future inhabitants of Rockbridge County.

Scenic 340
http://www.shenandoahvalleynetwork.org/page/index.html
The Scenic 340 Project seeks to preserve and protect the unique rural character, the natural environment and heritage of the Route 340 corridor from Front Royal to Waynesboro. The group ahs focused primarily on road design issues, such as Context Sensitive Solutions for transportation planning, as well as educating the public about conservation easements and other land protection tools. Read their white paper on Context Sensitive Solutions (pdf format).

Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council
www.shenandoahrcd.org/
The Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council (a non-profit organization) is organized for the purpose of enhancing the quality of public and private decisions and programs in the Shenandoah Valley as they affect the care and use of natural resources.

Shenandoah Valley Network
www.shenandoahvalleynetwork.org/
The Shenandoah Valley Network links organizations in the Valley working on specific transportation and development issues. The Network also connects Valley residents with state and national organizations and resources.

Other land trusts working in the region

Western Virginia Land Trust
www.westernvirginialandtrust.org
A publicly supported charitable organization providing voluntary means to promote the preservation of western Virginia’s natural and cultural heritage. WVLT works in Bedford, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick and Roanoke counties.

Potomac Conservancy
www.potomac.org
The Potomac Conservancy protects lands vital to the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. They work in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. Their Shenandoah office is in Winchester.

Piedmont Environmental Council
www.pecva.org
PEC promotes and protects the Virginia Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty. While focused primarily on the east side of the Blue Ridge, PEC also assists landowners in Clarke County and helps strengthen other organizations throughout the state.

The Nature Conservancy
www.nature.org
An international organization, The Nature Conservancy recently opened an office in Warm Springs to help protect fragile ecological resources centered in parts of Bath and Highland Counties.

Trust for Public Land
www.tpl.org
The Trust for Public Land was most recently successful in establishing a new public state park along one of the Seven Bends of the Shenandoah River near Woodstock.

Water Organizations in the Region

Cowpasture River Preservation Association
www.cowpastureriver.org
CRPA works to preserve the natural condition and beauty of the Cowpasture River and its tributaries for present and future generations.

Mountain Waters RCD
www.mountainwatersrcd.com
Serving the Upper James River Watershed, this organization is focusing on projects in four areas: Outdoor Recreation, Water Resources, Land Conservation, and Environmental Education.

Pure Water Forum
www.purewaterforum.org/
Based at James Madison University, the Forum works at promoting clean water and addressing water quality issues through networking, education, and action in the Shenandoah River Watershed. The Forum brings together under one umbrella a diverse group of community interests, including representatives from Valley citizen conservation groups, local and state governments, business and industry, agriculture, educators, conservation and planning districts, and others.

Friends of the Shenandoah River
www.fosr.org
The Friends of the Shenandoah River is a volunteer, non-profit, scientific organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Shenandoah River and it's tributaries. Friends of the Shenandoah River facilitates volunteer water sampling and testing throughout the watershed along with other projects.

Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River
www.fnfsr.org
Based in Woodstock, Friends of the North Fork is a grassroots citizens group dedicated to enhancing the purity, beauty and natural flow of the North Fork of the Shenandoah.