Support The Nature Conservancy
Charitable gifts from Conservancy members,
volunteers and other partners are crucial
to our conservation work along the Clinch
River and its tributaries, and on key lands
and waters throughout the Clinch Valley.
Together, we share an incredible opportunity
to protect, enhance and restore the health
and beauty of the region’s rivers, forests and
many unique natural areas. Please consider
joining with the Conservancy to protect
these special places for future generations.
For more information about how you can
support our work in the Clinch Valley, call
our Abingdon office or visit us online at
nature.org/virginia.
VISITING THE CLINCH VALLEY
Start your visit in historic Abingdon, Virginia, gateway to the
Clinch Valley. This charming town is home to the Conservancy’s
Clinch Valley Program office, along with numerous restaurants
and inns, and features a variety of arts, cultural, shopping and
recreational activities. Visit www.abingdon.com or contact the
Abingdon Convention & Visitors Bureau to plan your trip. As you
venture deeper into the region, visit the Heart of Appalachia
Clinch Valley
Tourism Authority online at www.heartofappalachia.com for
resources to help you explore natural and cultural wonders.
To appreciate the Clinch Valley’s remarkable geology, visit
Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve
© Byron Jorjorian
Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve in Russell County. The Conservancy
worked closely with the state to protect this 669-acre preserve
program
along the Clinch River. Walk the suspension footbridge over Big Cedar Creek, and hike the
trail to enjoy spectacular views of waterfalls, valleys and the stunning rock outcrop for which
Leadership Gift Opportunities
the preserve is named. For more information, contact the Virginia Department of Conservation
$50,000 to support land and water protection
and Recreation in Abingdon at (276) 676-5673.
$25,000 to support science programs
$10,000 to become a member of the Last Great
Places Society
Centuries ago, Daniel Boone set off down the Clinch River to explore the frontier. The Clinch
still offers a great paddling experience, and several public access points make planning your
$5,000 to support preserve stewardship programs
trip much easier than in Boone’s day. Licensed anglers can also drop a line for bass and
$1,000 or more to support core operations
walleye. For float maps and other access information, visit the Virginia Department of Game
$_____ Your gift of any size to support The
Nature Conservancy and the Clinch Valley
Program is greatly appreciated!
and Inland Fisheries online at www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating.
For outdoor volunteer opportunities and additional information on conservation areas in the
Clinch Valley, contact the Conservancy’s office in Abingdon at (276) 676-2209 or visit
For more information on how you can support the
Conservancy in Virginia, contact Director of
Philanthropy Rob Cushing at (434) 951-0597.
nature.org/virginia.
Rich Mountain Farm © Mundy Hackett
Clinch Valley Program
The Nature Conservancy
146 East Main Street
Abingdon, VA 24210
(276) 676-2209
nature.org/virginia
© June 2007 MRCE2012
printed on recycled paper
Freshwater mussels, Clinch River © Jon Golden
T
The mission of The Nature
Conservancy is to preserve the plants,
animals and natural communities
that represent the diversity of life on
Earth by protecting the lands and
waters they need to survive.
he Clinch, Powell and
Holston rivers run nearly
parallel courses through
the remote ridges, pastoral valleys
and small towns of southwestern
Virginia and northeastern
Tennessee. These last free-flowing
tributaries of the Tennessee
River system harbor the nation’s
highest concentration of imperiled
fish and freshwater mussels.
Above these ancient rivers, rare
plants cling to cliffs and slopes,
and long forested ridges provide
critical habitat for migratory
birds, black bears and other
wildlife. Through land mangement,
community outreach, innovative
science and diverse partnerships,
The Nature Conservancy’s
Clinch Valley Program works to
protect these special lands and
waters for generations to come.
about the
Clinch Valley
T
he Clinch Valley program area
of life. Its swift streams and rivers harbor
partners have protected habitat for more
covers more than 2,200 square
19 rare fish species and 43 varieties of
than 70 percent of the region’s imperiled
miles stretching eastward from
freshwater mussels, including 28 globally
species, but threats remain from unsus-
historic Cumberland Gap nearly to the
rare species. Its rich temperate forests
tainable forestry, inappropriate development,
base of Mount Rogers, Virginia’s highest
teem with a diversity of life, while untold
incompatible agriculture and generations
peak. The Carter Family immortalized the
organisms inhabit the intricate network
of coal mining.
beauty of the region’s rugged mountains,
of caves and springs snaking through lime-
remote hollows and swift streams in the
stone bedrock. The Conservancy and its
song “My Clinch Mountain Home.” The
landscape’s natural bounty has influenced
Appalachian culture and history for centuries. Native Americans took sustenance
from the forests and streams, pioneers followed Daniel Boone’s blazes down the
Clinch River, Kyles Ford Preserve © Byron Jorjorian
LAND AND WATER PROTECTION
Because freshwater mussels require high
water quality for survival, their health is
inseparable from that of the river system.
Since 1990, the Conservancy has protected
the best mussel habitat in the Clinch,
Powell and Holston rivers. In the Clinch
River alone, the Conservancy has protected
seven key shoals that collectively represent
the most diverse assemblage of freshwater
mussels on Earth.
Along Clinch Mountain, the Conservancy
and several state agencies are creating a
25-mile network of conservation areas
book-ended by public lands. Within this
natural corridor, nearly 6,000 acres of Rich
Mountain Farm, America’s oldest cattle
ranch, are enrolled in the Conservation
Forestry Program. The Conservancy has also
acquired nearly 5,000 acres atop Brumley
Mountain and is working with the commonwealth to create a new state forest.
Recognizing that healthy forests protect
water quality for mussels, fish and people,
the Conservancy has established its
Conservation Forestry Program. Under the
program, landowners permanently commit
their woodlands to the Conservancy for
sustainable management and, in return,
receive an annual stipend. To date, the
Conservancy manages more than 20,000
acres of private forest in Russell, Tazewell
and Washington counties.
The Conservancy believes that people are
a vital part of nature. Through projects such
as the Russell County Vision Forum and
St. Paul Tomorrow, the Conservancy works
in partnership with local communities to
promote economic opportunities that are
consistent with protecting the Clinch
Valley’s lands, waters and way of life. The
Clinch Valley Program also works with
farmers to install best management practices,
keeping lands in agricultural production
while preserving water quality.
INNOVATIVE SCIENCE
Science guides the work of the Clinch Valley
Program—from conservation planning to field
research to habitat protection and restoration.
At our Cleveland Island Preserve on the
Clinch River, for example, the Conservancy
works with partners to test the most effective methods for augmenting freshwater
mussel populations.
Through other diverse partnerships, the
Wilderness Road and settlers cultivated a
rugged spirit of self-reliance. Today, the
Clinch Valley’s diversifying economy—
including forestry, mining, agriculture and
tourism—remains closely tied to the land.
Designated as one of The Nature
Conservancy’s Last Great Places, the
Clinch Valley hosts an unparalleled array
Conservancy is fostering scientific inquiry
on coal mining to determine historic and
current impacts on streams and other
resources. The Conservancy also is launching
a demonstration project to reforest a former
mine site at Flint Gap in Russell County.
Restoring compacted soils and replanting
native trees will provide healthy wildlife
habitat, and the growing forest will capture
carbon emissions that otherwise would
accelerate global climate change.
Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve © Byron Jorjorian
Zebra swallowtail, Cleveland Natural Area © Byron Jorjorian
Cleveland Natural Area © Byron Jorjorian
Red eft © Michael R. Jeffords