ADVOCACY

Friends of the Rappahannock works at the local, state, and federal level to ensure the maximum protections for the Rappahannock River.

This includes a wide range of programs, issues, and campaigns that takes us across the watershed and beyond.

Review and comment of local ordinances, comprehensive plans, general development plans, permits, and more.
Active presence at the Virginia General Assembly fighting for continued funding for clean water programs, agricultural and stormwater best management practice funding, living shoreline program development, fishery protection, and a variety of other issues.
Federal advocacy to maintain a strong Chesapeake Bay Program and associated agency funding at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and more. Federal advocacy to protect the Clean Water Act and other federal regulations that impact the Rappahannock River.
Membership and participation in regional advocacy partnerships with the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN) and Choose Clean Water Coalition (CCWC).
Annual leader at Virginia Conservation Lobby Day and Bay Day on the Hill.

Click Here for the full 2025 Environmental Policy Briefing Book published by our partners at the Virginia Conservation Network.

Data Centers in the Rappahannock Watershed

Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) acknowledges that data centers are integral to modern life, supporting essential digital infrastructure. We all benefit from the services provided that are supported by data centers. We recognize the need for these facilities. But just like any development project, there is a right place and a wrong place, a better and worse option; especially when it comes to sensitive areas and resources like streams, wetlands, forests, wildlife habitat, historic and cultural resources, and our communities.

FOR's Official Position Statement

Follow FOR's Involvement

Fracking

Rappahannock Report Card

Healthy Rivers Initiative

Federal Water Policy

Rappahannock Advocacy Blog

Data Center Issues Along the Rappahannock

City of Fredericksburg – Technology Overlay District

Update as of 01/13/2025: On January 7th the City of Fredericksburg posted a document outlining the proposed amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and Comprehensive Plan related to Technology Overlay District (TOD). City Council will have to decide...

A Call to Fund the Work of Environmental Literacy

I have worked in education my entire career. I served ten years as a classroom teacher, and, more recently, 14 years as a devoted environmental educator. I have seen the appetite for environmental literacy shift from a “bonus” to a “must-have”. It now needs to be a...

Caroline County Water Withdrawal Open Comment

UPDATED: NOV. 21, 2024 Last week the Caroline County Board of Supervisors announced they were removing the request for industrial cooling water from their permit application to withdraw water from the Rappahannock River. This follows the announcement from DEQ that the...

General Assembly 2024

Join us as a strong voice for the Rappahannock River at the state level. The 2024 General Assembly session starts January 10th. While we will be supporting and opposing many issues we are prioritizing the following issues and will regularly update this page. We will...

General Assembly 2023

Join us as a strong voice for the Rappahannock River at the state level. The 2023 General Assembly session starts January 11th. We are prioritizing these issues and will regularly update this page. We will include info on bill progress and how you can make a...

General Assembly 2022

Join us as a strong voice for the Rappahannock River at the state level. The 2021 General Assembly session starts January 13th. We are prioritizing these issues and will regularly update this page. We will include info on bill progress and how you can make a...

So You Forgot Your Reusable Bag….

SO YOU FORGOT YOUR REUSABLE BAG... Starting on January 1, the City of Fredericksburg levied a 5-cent tax on each disposable bag sold at all grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores within the 22401 zip code. This new tax has encouraged many residents to...

Community Efforts for Mountain Run

Mountain Run is a stream that flows through downtown Culpeper. It begins in agricultural fields before it feeds two drinking water reservoirs, flows through several popular park spaces, under bridges and highways, through backyards, and into the Rappahannock River. In...

Advocating for Coastal Resilience

In the last few years coastal flood resilience and climate change adaptation has become an advocacy priority of Friends of the Rappahannock. In Virginia flooding resilience has become a topic of great debate and modest positive action. Coastal areas, both urban and...