Virginia
about
Virginia Partnership for Forests & Water holds bi-monthly virtual meetings among utilities, state agencies, conservation groups, and other stakeholders to discuss priorities related to the protection and management of Virginia forest lands for the sake of drinking water protection. To join, contact info@southeasternpartnership.org.
goals
Increase acreage of conserved and properly managed forestlands to improve drinking water quality and quantity in source watersheds.
Maintain regular communication among partners, including virtual meetings and in-person forums and workshops, to provide partners with continual education on forestland programs and funding opportunities.
Engage in existing partnerships to achieve larger floodplain and riparian restoration goals.
Promote the development of new and innovative partnerships and pilot projects to implement creative long-term stewardship strategies, such as watershed protection programs.
Identify watersheds and initiatives that have high potential for cooperative forest conservation and long-term stewardship.
Increase awareness of the benefits of forested watersheds and wetlands for providing sustainable and high-quality drinking water supply.
Promote outreach, education, and technical assistance to private forest landowners regarding programs and practices to create, enhance, and maintain forestlands and riparian buffers.
FORUM AGENDAS & REPORTS
JUN 2019 - VA Forests & Drinking Water Forum
PARTNERSHIP CALL NOTES
For earlier (archived) call notes, email info@southeasternpartnership.org.
OTHER RESOURCES
2024 VA Forests & Water Partner List
NRCS-VA Source Water Protection Areas - Fact Sheet 2023
NRCS-VA Source Water Protection Areas - Map 2023
VA Shared Forest Stewardship Agreement
2020 VA Forest Action Plan (Water quality discussed on p12.)
Background
The USDA Forest Service (USFS) and the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities are collaborating with Southeastern states to maintain healthy watersheds that provide safe, reliable drinking water, healthy forests, and strong local and regional economies.
Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water recognizes that healthy forests benefit drinking water quality and quantity. Stewarding, enhancing, and maintaining healthy forests in key Southeastern drinking water source watersheds is necessary due to increasing population growth and urbanization in the Southeast, which is resulting in forest fragmentation, forest losses (conversion to other land uses), and a decline in forest health. Goals are accomplished by strengthening collaborative state partnerships, initially through forests and drinking water forums, and then identifying priority watersheds and projects for collaboration, creating financing mechanisms, and seeking funding.