Partnerships Build River Access Sites in Virginia

Jeff Womac, tall and dressed all in tan, stood at the top of a long, sturdy staircase leading to the Powell River.

“Two weeks on this one, two weeks on the second, a week on the third,” Womac said of the time he spent building three new river access sites in southwest Virginia.

A Tennessee Valley Authority contractor who "does just about anything and everything" building-wise at TVA, Womac has worked on swinging bridges at Apalachia Dam and other large-scale, one-of-a-kind projects.

“It was a learning curve,” he said, nodding to this steep staircase with wood beams running lengthwise as boat rails.

But his efforts – the final step of decades of planning, permitting and partnerships among TVA, TVA contractors, the state of Virginia, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and others – were well worth it.

It’s now easy for people to slip a boat into the calm current of the Powell, which flows at the base of fields and forested hills folding from tall ridges like the fabric of a skirt.

Hours of peaceful paddling await those who use the Flanary Bridge access site – or the other new sites at Poteet Ferry Bridge and Beech Grove Road. People can cast for sunfish, longnose gar and bass, or simply enjoy the scenery sliding by.

“Strong partnerships and relationships are what get it done,” Garry Chappelle, TVA Natural Resources manager, said. “This meets TVA’s core values of public access to and stewardship of our environment.”

Josh Guizar, officer for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, stands at the top of boat slides that make it easy for paddlers to access the Powell River.

Partnerships Help Paddlers

The project idea took off because it meets not only TVA’s mission, but also those of other agencies and organizations.

“We're very proud to be partners with TVA,” Tom Hampton, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources lands and access manager, said. “TVA owns the land, TVA developed the sites, but we will be doing safety inspections and long-term maintenance.”

The Nature Conservancy has worked with the local Natural Resource Conservation Service to advocate for healthy farming practices surrounding the river for the past three decades. They’ll partner with TVA to offer more potential sites in the future.

“This is an example of natural resources being a huge asset in our lives,” Brad Kreps, Nature Conservancy Clinch Valley program director, said.

The public plays a role, too. Some sites are possible through a special grant program called Voluntary Public Access.

“That’s a nationwide program under the farm bill that allows you to compensate private landowners for public access on their property,” Hampton said.

“(This project) defined the meaning of, ‘It takes a village,’” said Randy Short, TVA Natural Resources senior program manager. “It was right time, right place, right people. It was a team effort.”

TVA recreation strategy specialist Clay Guerry agreed.

“There’s probably more than a dozen people who ... had a hand in getting this to the finish line,” he said.

To Hampton, the years of work and collaboration mean he and others can share the riches the river has to offer.

“Once you put in the river, you don't really have to make any decisions,” Hampton said. “You're just on the river’s time. And it’s just a peaceful, relaxing type of recreation. It’s a hidden gem.”

A partner project decades in planning, the Flanary Bridge River Access Site offers boaters and fishers a way to enjoy a peaceful paddle on the Powell River.

The Life Aquatic

The Powell River isn’t only a pristine place to paddle, fish or enjoy a peaceful float.

Like its neighbor, the Clinch River, it’s home to some of the rarest species in the world.

On the drizzly morning of the site’s ribbon-cutting celebration, tiny fish in Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources tanks darted next to a spiny snail and a mucket mussel that looked, with its bulky wedge shape and craggy shell, almost like a slice of coconut cake.

They represented 33 mussel species found within the Powell, 15 of which – including the pearly mussel, snuffbox and Appalachian monkeyface – are threatened or endangered.

“The Powell is one of the most ecologically diverse rivers in the United States,” Short said.

Opening up the river to recreation is a low-impact way to bring people to the river. And increasing access to these waters means building river advocates.

“The more people we can get on the river ... the more support we can get to protect these species,” Short said.

“And then they appreciate the resource,” Guerry said.

“Anytime that you increase appreciation ... whether (for) the river or the amazing aquatic species that are in the Powell River, that always helps in conservation,” Hampton said.

A crayfish and mucket mussel are among the hundreds of aquatic species that call the biodiverse Powell River home.

Local Connections

Conservation is only the beginning.

“There’s an economic benefit, as well as quality of life (to adding these sites),” Guerry said.

Because the Powell is ranked as Class 1, the lowest on the rapids scale, it's gentle enough for anyone new to boating or who may want a relaxed day on the water.

Yet it’s relatively unknown.

“Lee County is very rural,” Short said. “It’s an untapped resource.”

One of the most rugged and longest-settled spots in Virginia, the area is known for historic swinging bridges built across steep riverbanks, as well as networks of caves threading underground.

The route to the river itself is an experience. It coasts through tight-turning hills and fields dotted with rocks and grazing cows. Roads with names such as Ivy Hollow, Panther Creek and Lone Gap branch off at extreme angles and disappear behind knuckle knolls of exposed rock and cedar trees.

Nearby, the historic Trail of the Lonesome Pine – part of the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail – follows the sinuous path Daniel Boone and European settlers threaded through these hills to Cumberland Gap, now a National Historical Park.

The three new river access sites add to this list of attractions.

“We’re bringing additional recreational opportunities to the backdoor of the good folks of Lee County,” Guerry said.

At the opening of the new river access site were Brad Kreps, Clinch Valley program director for the Nature Conservancy; Terry Kilgore, Virginia state delegate; Ryan Brown, executive director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources; Tyler Lester, legislative director for Virginia Sen. Todd Pillion; Garry Chappelle, TVA Natural Resources manager; and Dane Poe, Lee County administrator.

Birth of a Blueway

For TVA resource managers and their partners, the opening of these sites is just the beginning.

“The overall strategy is to fill in the gaps on the Powell, to have an access (site) at least every 5 to 7 miles,” Guerry said. “The long-term vision is to continue that across state lines, build it out to be a multiregional destination for human-powered watercraft.”

Hampton sees expanding these partnerships, and ecotourism, as the way of the future.

“If you look at the parts of outdoor recreation that are really growing right now, it's wildlife viewing and it's paddling,” Hampton said.

These sites represent the beginning of Hampton’s hope.

“(We’re going to) build out this Powell River Blueway,” Guerry said. "We’re continuing to make the Valley region the best place in the nation to live, work and play."

Short nodded.

“We can make this a regional treasure.”

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: TVA contractor Jeff Womac built the Flanary Bridge River Access Site and two others on the Powell River in Lee County, Virginia.