Visitors to the Blue Ridge Plateau Regional Visitors Center or the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market may have noticed some peculiar green posts lining the creek and clustered around the LOVE sign. These green tubes are part of a riparian forest buffer project created in conjunction with the New River Conservancy.
But what is a riparian forest buffer?
Riparian buffers are forested or grassed areas adjacent to streams, lakes, or ponds that are designed to protect water quality and provide habitat for flora and fauna. Riparian buffers filter nutrients, sediment, and pollutants from runoff. They also reduce flood impacts, with root systems taking in the water and stabilizing river/creek banks. The shade provided by the trees will help support aquatic life, while also keeping visitors cool.
Carroll County Tourism’s riparian project consists of 92 seedlings planted on 1/3 acre of land adjacent to the creek. The planting was done this past April under the direction of Tom Saxton, Restoration Ecologist with New River Conservancy, which supplied both the labor and materials for the project. Nine types of trees were planted, including oak, maple, river birch, eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, serviceberry, viburnum varieties, winterberry, paw paw, and black gum.
“The stakes really help with holding in the water,” said Carroll County Tourism Director Brooke Love. “They also help to keep the deer away. Otherwise we’d have a field full of deer over here every morning.”
The New River Conservancy obtained a grant for $1,300 from the Virginia Department of Forestry for the Carroll County riparian buffer, but this is only one of several NRC riparian projects, as Lisa Galitz, of the New River Conservancy, explains.
“We’re doing projects in the City of Radford, Damascus, Narrows, Draper, Hiwassee, Pulaski, Pulaski County, Carroll County and Montgomery County. The maintenance for the trees is still under New River Conservancy purview until the end of May, when Carroll County takes over with our guidance.”
The Virginia Department of Forestry is funding the creation of these riparian forest canopies throughout the commonwealth. More than 15,000 trees will be planted as part of Virginia’s riparian initiative.
This plot of land next to the Blue Ridge Plateau Regional Center has received a lot of attention in the past couple of years.
“We installed the Love signs about a year and a half ago,” said Brooke Love.
“We have hopes that this could be turned into a trailhead that goes to parks and rec., so that visitors and locals could come enjoy things in our garden and then enjoy the trail at parks and rec. We’d eventually like to get a little walking bridge over the creek for easier access to the LOVE sign.”
Tourism Director Love is aided in her efforts to spread the word about the attributes of the area by Carroll Tourism Marketing Director Kendra Durnil, a native of Dugspur and recent graduate of Emory and Henry University.
Durnil said that in five years, the riparian planting area will look completely different.
Both Love and Durnil are looking forward to the upcoming season when the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market will be bustling with activity. The Blue Ridge Plateau Regional Visitor Center is located at 239 Farmers Market Drive in Hillsville.
Riparian Buffer Resoration
