Guest River Restoration Project

Contact Information

Background

Nestled in Southwest Virginia (mainly in Wise County) the roaring waters of the Guest River flow. Despite it’s remarkable beauty these waters are hazardous to your health. In 1998 The Guest River Restoration Project was founded from a collective agreement of local agencies and organizations concerned with water quality issues surrounding the Guest River watershed. The Guest River is the most polluted tributary of the Clinch River whereas Virginia’s 1998 303(d) TMDL report identified the Guest River as a High Priority. Impairments are due to non point pollution (NPS) runoff, high sediment loads due to unstable streambanks and poor Best Management Practices (BMP), severe bacterial levels due to improper use of septic tanks and illegal straight pipes, and resource extraction due to mining and logging. Because of NPS runoff and acid mine drainage, our Guest River is only partially supporting aquatic life. The Guest River Restoration Group has lost momentum since 1998, the OSM/VISTA will serve to help revitalize, restore, and refocus the development of projects back to it’s original vision: to restore, the quality of the watershed to be able to support and sustain local economies and recreational uses.

Goals

1. Assist in writing grants, attend relevant meetings, conduct direct recruitment for citizen involvement, assist in planning and implementation of community watershed projects.

2. Improving water monitoring and research surrounding the ever-changing conditions of the watershed.

3. Promoting watershed education and outreach activities: such as SOS monitoring.

Partners and Contributers

USDA, LPSWCD, Wise County, NRCS, DCR, Tennessee Valley Authority, Wise County Health Department, City of Norton, US Forest Service, VA Department of Mines Minerals and Energy, Black Diamond RC&D, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Nature Conservancy, City of Norton, The Master Gardeners, Keep Wise County Beautiful, and many other concerned citizens.