What is the James River Association?
The James River Association (JRA) was established as the Lower James River Association by a group of concerned citizens living along the Lower James River in 1976. In the mid-1990’s, its name changed to the present James River Association in an effort to include the entire James River watershed.

The mission of the James River Association is to be guardian of the James River. The JRA provides a voice for the river and takes action to promote conservation and responsible stewardship of its natural resources. It achieves these goals through four core programs: James RiverKeeper Program, Watershed Restoration, Education & Outreach and River Advocacy.

James RiverKeeper Program
The James Riverkeeper is a full-time, on-the-water advocate for the public right to protect and defend the environment. The goal of this program is to keep constant vigil on the James River by monitoring its conditions, identifying problems, and ensuring that solutions are executed properly.

Watershed Restoration
The mission of the Watershed Restoration Program is to promote responsible land use initiatives within the James River Watershed and showcase solutions through partnerships and innovative projects. Through this program, JRA evaluated the development codes and ordinances for flexibility of implementing 'environmentally friendly design' in 45 localities within the watershed, planted over 35,000 trees along creeks and rivers to improve water quality and assisted in protecting over 37,000 acres of land through conservation easements and education.

Education & Outreach
The Education and Outreach Program provides programming and field experiences for youth and instructors in the Watershed to reach the next generation of River Guardians.

River Advocacy
The James River Association is the leading voice for important policy and legal matters regarding the James River Watershed.

With these programs and the support of concerned citizens, the James River Association will continue to provide a voice for the river, and will hopefully be able to restore the James to full health for current and future generations.

To learn more visit http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/