OUR MISSION
To be the voice and active force for a healthy and scenic Rappahannock River.
Our Vision
A Rappahannock River… that is clean and safe for fish consumption and recreation from its Headwaters to its confluence with the Chesapeake.
A Rappahannock River… that supports a healthy and diverse aquatic ecosystem, with submerged grasses, oysters, crabs and other species returned to their historic levels and productivity.
A Rappahannock River Watershed… where land use and runoff is managed to protect and enhance our riparian habitats, downstream waters, scenic viewsheds and historical resources.
A Rappahannock River Community… where the citizens and local governments are educated about river stewardship, where they take a sense of personal stewardship over the river resource, and where they take action in their own backyards and communities to protect it.
WHAT WE DO
General Assembly 2021
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...
A Rising Tide of Capacity: Expanding our Tidal Region Programming
This year has brought significant growth in staff and project capacity for the tidal office based in Tappahannock. For years the office was staffed by a Lower River Steward and periodically by an educator from the education staff. With minimal support, our staff did...
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...
Coloring Book: Plants & Animals of the Rappahannock (Free Download)
During this time of stay-at-home orders, we thought everyone might enjoy some brand new coloring pages. Carefully crafted by FOR staff, enjoy coloring seven pages of river plants and animals. Learn about flowers, fish, and birds you can find along the Rappahannock...
ChesBay Report Card: The Rappahannock’s grade tanked in 2019. Here are four lessons we can learn from this.
The University of Maryland’s newly published 2019 Chesapeake Bay Report Card found that the water quality in the Rappahannock River fell significantly between 2018 and 2019, from a C grade to a D, based on 7 indicators of water quality. It’s hard to sugar coat this....
Riverwatch
Our Riverwatch map provides geographic data on the Rappahannock and helps you understand how FOR is helping keep our river healthy.
Impaired Rappahannock River Waterways
Learn more about how your local waterways are doing in pollutant reduction.