If an endangered species goes extinct, there’s no turning back. And its absence can set off a cascade of carnage, harming entire ecosystems from farming to recreation. But a growing coalition of wildlife experts and private landowners has been working together to save endangered streams and the species that depend on them.
The North Fork of the Roanoke River in southwestern Virginia flows through one of the prettiest watersheds in the state. But water quality has been suffering for decades from erosion and pollution coming from a variety of sources.
“And we are tasked with delivering habitat restoration projects on private lands.” That’s Corey Kanuckel , a wildlife biologist working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and several other groups, to help landowners manage endangered waterways on their properties, that require more maintenance and protection than they can tackle themselves.
“And in this instance,” he points out, "they’re targeting an endangered species known to occupy the North Fork Roanoke River."
He’s talking about the Roanoke logperch, found almost nowhere else in the world, but here.
“It’s a combination of knowing that Roanoke logperch is there and having that resource concern that we were able to address.”
The North Fork of the Roanoke River traverses Montgomery County. Its meandering beauty won it a designation as a National Rural Historic District.
But multi use water ways don’t repair themselves, and the wear and tear from all kinds of activities, takes its toll.
It can cost thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions in some parts of the state, to protect the water and keep it clean.
“And a lot of times what happens is the landowner starts to realize that they’re losing a lot of topsoil,” says Mike Pinder is an aquatic biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “And a lot of the stream is cutting away in sections and large sections of the property are falling into the Creek and washing away.”
He says” That does no benefit to the landowner because they're losing property, where they could be grazing cattle, or they could be growing straw” for example.
And he says it also does nothing to help the fish and animals in the creek, “Because that material is dumping in these fine sediments of clays and silts and such, are covering the habitat of these, of these fishes.”
An awareness campaign alerts private landowners with endangered waterways on their properties that help may be available.
“Our goal is to have modern agriculture, forestry and wildlife conservation and recreation on one farm.” That’s John Sutphin, one of the landowners along the North Fork River having work done on his and an adjoining property. “And it can be used as an example or a model if you will, for the future generations that are coming. So, we want to get everything in as good a shape as we can for the next generation to take care of.”
“We like to like to swim and we like to catch fish” says Sutphin’s granddaughter in the video.
That’s a big deal because a big part of these water repair projects is aimed at keeping cows from muddying the waters so to speak, polluting streams and harming aquatic life.
Again Corey Kanuckel, “That requires finding that common ground that works for both sides, you know, we're getting the cattle out of that corridor, but we also need to work with the landowner to provide that alternate water.”
The Virginia Environmental Endowment’s Community Conservation Grant Program helps pick up the costs with additional support from Fish and Wildlife and the state. And while not required, most landowners also contribute financially to the project if they can.
Right now, these water clean-up projects are all voluntary. “And we want it to remain that way," he says. "That's how we work best together. When you know the agency folks are now out there regulating and, and requiring by law landowners to do this. We don't want to get to that place. We want to work together and when we're successful in doing that, it's the landowners that spread word of this project and keep this ball rolling.”
And he says, this is not only about endangered species. “It’s also about keeping common species common. And it's about keeping working lands thriving on the landscape, the working landowner, the farms in this Valley, those are the folks that are stewards of the land. Those are the ones that own the resource, they own the land. They own the corridor. And so, it's really all about engaging with them to find that common ground, that it does exist between agriculture and wildlife conservation and making it work for both sides.”
As part of this project, the New River Land Trust and the project partners are actively seeking landowners and funding for future projects. Donating land to the Trust keeps it forever free from development and the hope is that more people will decide to do so.
