For more than five years, Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley has convened the Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative (SVCC) where agencies and organizations leverage each other’s strengths and networks to get more land protected and cleaner water in the Valley. By working together, SVCC partners are able to engage more landowners and provide comprehensive assistance for the variety of on-farm conservation practices available to improve water quality and increase farm profitability. There has never been a better time to get these practices on the ground.
In 2022, the Collaborative received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to re-energize more than a decade of conservation progress by the Smith Creek Watershed Partnership. Now with funding and partnership coordination in place, work is underway to build on past successes by working with farmers and landowners to implement voluntary conservation practices such as stream side buffers, denitrifying bioreactors, improved pasture management, and mixed species cover cropping to improve the water quality and health of Smith Creek and other small streams in the Valley.
If you are interested in working with the Alliance or any of our partners on clean water projects like the ones highlighted in this newsletter, contact:
