Monday, March 24, 2008
Parkway friends need people to plant trees
The Roanoke Times | File 2006
Diana Pham (with green bucket) and Katie Hairfield (right) water a newly planted tree while Carmen Cotton (far left) and Joshua Sarver look on. All are with the William Fleming Key Club.
The Roanoke Valley chapter of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway is seeking volunteers to help plant trees Saturday as part of its ongoing effort to shield the scenic road from views of nearby development.
The planting will focus on the N&W Railroad Overlook at milepost 106.9.
Mark McClain, the steering committee chairman for the Roanoke Valley chapter, said the group chose the site because there is a large housing development being constructed in the valley near it that is disrupting the natural views.
The group will plant 250 oak and maple seedlings but will leave "just enough uncovered view to see the railroad tracks but not the construction," he said.
The group has planting events once or twice a year as part of its "Save the Parkway Views" initiative.
McClain said he expects 100 to 150 volunteers to help Saturday.
Music, refreshments and activities will be provided.
The National Park Service works closely with Friends chapters on these projects, according to Susan Mills, executive director of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Park Service chooses where the plantings will occur and what types of trees will be planted.
The 469-mile parkway, which winds from Shenandoah National Park in Northern Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, is the most visited national park asset in the country, and Roanoke is the biggest city located along it.
After the Roanoke Valley's 28 parkway miles made a national list of 10 "last-chance landscapes" in 2003, all seven Friends chapters started meeting once a year with the park service to map out areas where scenic views are jeopardized by residential and commercial development.
These efforts resulted in 2,000 saplings being planted along Cotton Hill in Southwest Roanoke County and near the parkway's intersection with U.S. 220.
