Patrick Rivers and Trails

Last Chance to Participate in DRBA's Recreational Use Planning Meetings

2012-02-20T11:46:00.001-08:00

The Dan River Basin Association's last public input meeting concerning the development of a Recreational Use Plan in Patrick County will be held tomorrow. Meeting is scheduled for 7pm on February 21st at Nettle Ridge United Methodist Church in the Moorefield Store area. Don't miss this chance to get involved in the future of Patrick County!

Last week, we had a very successful meeting at the Smith River Rescue Squad Building in Woolwine. There was a good turn out from folks who want to see Patrick's recreational and cultural amenities developed.

There were some really great ideas for the development of new trails in the Woolwine area. Once we get closer to having a solid Recreational Use Plan, we will have narrowed it down to the most feasible projects that will have the largest positive effect in the community.

DRBA's Public Meeting Series Nearly Finished, Please Join Us!

2012-02-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

Meeting Schedule:

Thursday, February 16th - Woolwine Rescue Squad Building @ 7pm
Tuesday, February 21st - Nettle Ridge Methodist Church @7pm (Moorefield Store Area)

If you haven't made it to a RecreationalUse Planning meeting there's still time! There will be two more opportunities to participate in the Dan River Basin Association's public meeting series. So far, we've visited the communities of Stuart, Critz, Meadows of Dan, and Ararat. We've begun a productive dialogue with people who recognize the important role that recreational and cultural tourism will play in the future economy of Patrick County and the potential it has for increasing standards of living while protecting natural resources.

There is a long list of potential trail-building projects that community members would like to see explored. By the time we get closer to having a solid Recreation Plan we hope to have narrowed it down to a couple do-able projects that will be implemented once we let our local government know that it's important to us! We've also gathered some ideas on ways to improve our existing amenities to make them more accessible to both community members and visitors.

This effort is basically about two things; community health and economic development. Developing more accessible trails, river accesses and parks will provide more opportunities for Patrick County citizens to adopt active and healthy living habits - and help reduce overall health care costs. Making our natural resources available to visitors can be an important catalyst for economic growth in both tourism and corporate recruiting.

We can use our major assets to enhance our community and support a sustainable community, offering our children promising futures.

If you are interested in economic development and feel that you have ideas to offer or just want listen, please join us!

Inventory of Recreation & Culture in Patrick County

2012-01-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

As we enter the public meeting phase in the development of a recreational use plan for Patrick, participation from community members will be crucial. Shared in this post is a link to the working inventory of all recreational and cultural opportunities in Patrick County. All are welcome and encouraged to view the inventory. If you have any suggestions, corrections, additions etc., please e-mail them to Anna Wallace at annawallace374@gmail.com.

https://docs.google.com/a/danriver.org/document/d/1tzs-Gw15cJZrMd5A7QvFjBvG5O58c8lxau5Of-uNFgo/edit?hl=en_US

Recreational Use Planning in Patrick County

2012-01-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

The Dan River Basin Association’s Patrick County Rivers and Trails Group has been working to gather information and support toward the development of a Master Recreation & Trails Plan for the beautiful county of Patrick. We believe that the pristine natural resources of our county coupled with a rich heritage hold the key to a flourishing and sustainable economic future. Having a recreation plan will help guide future development and encourage cohesiveness when it comes to marketing the assets of Patrick County to visitors and potential businesses. Borrowing from DRBA’s mission statement, we hope to “preserve and promote the natural and cultural resources of Patrick County through stewardship, recreation and education”. The crucial element in this plan will be participation from the citizens of Patrick County. We need your input to identify the assets this county possesses and also to identify areas that need more attention. If there is a mediocre existing trail that just needs some maintenance and signage to become great, let us know! It is these kinds of things that contribute to the over-all quality of life in our county.

So far, we are close to completing an inventory of the recreational and cultural amenities that Patrick has to offer. The PCRTG is gathering information on parks, walking & hiking trials, mountain biking trails, canoeing, kayaking and fishing opportunities as well as heritage and cultural sites, arts, camping and accommodations. This inventory is only phase one in the development of a recreation plan and we need input from the public to complete it. If there is any information you would like to contribute such as locations, descriptions or maps of recreational and cultural opportunities, please send an e-mail to annawallace374@gmail.com.

The next step in the process will be the public meeting phase. Here we will organize meetings to spread community knowledge about the development of a recreational use plan. We hope to gain support for the initiative as well as address questions and concerns from the public. We can use these meetings to identify potential projects, such as constructing a connector trail or improving an existing one. We also hope to get volunteers on board to help us see these projects to fruition. The first public meeting is set for January 19th at Patrick Henry Community College at 7pm. Additional meetings will be held at Reynolds Homestead on February 2nd at 7pm, February 7th at Woodberry Inn in Meadows of Dan at 7pm and February 9th at Boyd’s Restaurant in Ararat at 7:30pm. One additional meeting in Woolwine will be announced when it is finalized.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Patrick County Rivers and Trails Group!

For those of you who love to play in the snow, here is something to look forward to...a winter wonderland with a view from the mountain.

Big thanks to Daryl Kreager for sharing her beautiful pictures of Patrick with us!

Introducing DRBA Intern, Anna Wallace

2011-11-22T09:24:00.001-08:00

My name is Anna Wallace and I am happy to have recently been accepted as an Intern with the Dan River Basin Association. A native to Patrick, I was raised in Woolwine and attended Patrick County Schools before re-locating to attend college at Virginia Tech.

While working on my Bachelor's Degree in Humanities, Science and the Environment I was introduced to the environmental issues facing my generation and the technological and cultural paradigms that got us to this point. In developing the opinion that we should take steps to protect and conserve our environment I began to foster an appreciation for the natural resources we are lucky to have here in southwest Virginia.

I feel that the protection and conservation of our natural resources is very important to the quality of life and economic future of Patrick County. I hope to settle down in the area and take advantage of all the beautiful things Patrick has to offer. I also look forward to helping initiatives that will ensure the long-term viability of our county's environment which I feel will contribute to a sustainable and flourishing community. During the past month I have helped the Patrick County Rivers and Trails Group begin the process of collecting an inventory of the recreational and cultural amenities of Patrick County. The inventory will be helpful in developing a Recreational Use Plan for the county which may serve as a guide for future development.

I look forward to meeting and working with other community members who are interested in helping to develop this plan! I also look forward to taking advantage of those recreational opportunities that I didn't know about before joining the Patrick County Rivers and Trails Group!

[December 2011]