Welcome to Friends of the Roanoke River!
The Roanoke River is one of southwest Virginia’s most precious natural resources. Most importantly, however, water from the Roanoke River Watershed provides families in the Roanoke Valley with much of their drinking water supply. In fact, the Water Authority pumps water into the Spring Hollow Reservoir from the headwaters of the Roanoke River system as the drinking water for many parts of Salem and Roanoke. Many area residents still enjoy floating and fishing the Roanoke River and its tributaries, but no one eats the fish!
As dismal as that may sound, nevertheless, the River has undergone a renaissance of late as both Roanoke City and County have invested in a series of Greenways to enhance access to the Roanoke River for the disabled as well as the fit. This access has increased awareness of the waterway and its importance in the overall landscape of the Star City and the Roanoke Valley. Likewise, the new additions to the Greenway will not only give residents more opportunities to enjoy the Roanoke River, but will only mitigate some long-standing environmental damage sustained by the River during the last several decades.
Friends of the Roanoke River, a collaborative project with Friends of the Rivers of Virginia (FORVA), is a group dedicated to enhancing online advocacy for the Roanoke River watershed and building a grassroots network of citizens who want to preserve the River as a symbol of southwest Virginia’s commitment to leading the way in sustainability and resource preservation.
Right now, all we want is your attention.
Please join us by signing up to receive information about this new organization via email. We also invite you to join our group on Facebook for continual updates about our community as it grows.
Finally, we want you to be part of our growing community of online advocates as contributors here at Friends of the Roanoke River. Please contact us at friendsoftheroanokeriver (at) gmail.com if you are interested in becoming an online River advocate and a contributor to The River Now blog here at Friends of the Roanoke River. Just send us an email telling us why you are interested with the words FORR Blog in the subject line, and we’ll do the rest!