Entire Maury Now a Designated Virginia Scenic River

Community Organizing Pays Off:
After three and a half years of collaborative effort by the Scenic Maury Committee, a group of riverfront landowners and interested citizens led by members of Rockbridge Conservation’s Watershed Committee, the entire Maury River is now officially a Virginia Scenic River. The Governor signed the legislation to extend official Virginia Scenic River status to the lower Maury, effective July 1, 2022.

The upper Maury—from Goshen Pass to Beans Bottom—won scenic river status two years ago. The Maury downstream of Beans Bottom required coordination with multiple local governments and many landowners so the overall project was accomplished in two phases, the upper Maury in 2019 and the lower Maury in 2021. With community support from the upper Maury project, the volunteers went back to work last year, contacting most of the property owners along the river, explaining the issue and winning almost all of them over. County Administration Spencer Suter helped draft resolutions of support, which were approved by Lexington, Buena Vista, Glasgow and Rockbridge County. Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Ronnie Campbell supported the measure, which passed in the 2022 session of the Virginia General Assembly. The recognition of the river’s scenic value will provide our treasured resource with at least some protection in the future, but Rockbridge Conservation will remain vigilant as water quality and flooding concerns remain.

Read more here.