Canaan Valley Institute

05/29/2024

CVI is hiring! Please visit our website for more information.

Clean water. Strong communities.

05/03/2024

CVI was honored last week to receive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding to improve fish passage and support recreational and economic opportunities in the Town of Clinchco, Virginia. In partnership with the USFWS and the Town, CVI will remove a hazardous dam on the McClure River, reconnecting 22 miles of the river and restoring habitat to benefit the federally threatened Big Sandy Crayfish by allowing movement between two currently isolated and genetically important populations currently separated by the dam. This project, the first-of-its-kind to benefit the BSC, provides significant opportunities for scientific research and will advance knowledge of the species and help guide future recovery strategies. Support for data collection will be provided by West Liberty University, USFWS, and Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Learn more:

This project will remove one hazardous low-head dam on the McClure River in the Town of Clinchco, Virginia, to benefit the federally threatened Big Sandy crayfish within Critical Habitat.

11/28/2023

On Giving Tuesday, we thank all of our donors, partners and supporters for making clean water, healthy streams, vibrant watersheds and thriving communities a priority in Central Appalachia--since 1995! If you would like to make a donation today, please visit our website or click here: https://canaanvi.harnessgiving.org/donate/ Thank you!

09/26/2023

A special thanks to UTRR and shout out to CVI staff members Frank Wagner and Chrissy Verdream on receiving UTRR’s 2023 Partnership Award for excellence! We celebrate UTRR’s many successes and look forward to collaborating together on more restoration projects, community outreach and environmental education in southwest Virginia. Congratulations to all recipients of 2023 Partnership Awards!

09/25/2023

This year's World Rivers Day (September 24) marks the completion of the first Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) project done by our watershed partner, Friends of the Cheat (as in Cheat River, WV). By replacing undersized and perched culverts with a bridge, this project can help brook trout reach their spawning grounds upstream and help reduce the risk of structure failure and flooding downstream. We're proud to partner with FOC and thank the landowner and additional project funding partners Appalachian Stewardship Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their support!

09/10/2023

We appreciate the Cardinal News of Virginia for covering our recent restoration project in southwest Virginia and for spreading the word about the benefits of pollinator meadows. A special thanks to Chrissy Verdream and Frank Wagner, our habitat restoration team in Abingdon, VA, and many thanks to the Cardinal News, writer Carolyn Rosenbaum Wilson, and project partners Holston Conference-E&H cemetery board, US Fish and Wildlife Partners program, VA Dept. of Forestry, and the Virginia Master Naturalist-Holston Rivers Chapter (Abingdon). The project included a prescribed burn and creation of a pollinator meadow at a historic cemetery on the grounds of Emory & Henry College. The article highlights the benefits of planting with native plants and increasing habitat biodiversity for pollinators. Check it out!

Emory & Henry College has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canaan Valley Institute to convert 2 acres into a pollinator meadow.

08/18/2023

We're hiring! CVI is seeking to hire 1-2 Habitat Restoration Specialists in West Virginia. Visit our website at http://www.canaanvi.org/careers.html to learn more and apply.

Careers Yes, we are hiring! Posted August 18, 2023: CVI is hiring for 1-2 Habitat Restoration Specialists Overview: Canaan Valley Institute (CVI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), West Virginia Field Office (WVFO), Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program are seeking 1-2 Habitat Restorat...

06/12/2023

We're excited to share an article published in The Journal of Martinsburg this weekend about our partnership Green Infrastructure and Workforce Development program in Berkeley County, WV! The article highlights the work of Matt Pennington with Downstream Strategies, one of CVI's longtime partners, to develop the internship program. Check it out!

MARTINSBURG – The Berkeley County Green Infrastructure Implementation and Workforce Development Partnership, or “Green Collar” for short, is giving interns real experience through its stream restoration project.

06/09/2023

2022 "Green Collar" intern Katie Gladden joins 2023 interns Trinity Lee and Autumn Snyder to work on a stream restoration project in Berkeley County, WV this week. All three students study environmental science at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, one of five regional partners in the Berkeley County Green Infrastructure Workforce Development program. Thanks to project funders National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), WV DEP, and WV Council for Community and Technical College Education for supporting green jobs training in WV!