Monitoring studies of stream restoration projects implemented at the reach scale indicate limited improvement in aquatic communities, as opposed to restoration projects done at a watershed-scale. Realization that a piecemeal approach to stream restoration is ineffective complicates the efforts of government agencies charged with protecting and restoring habitats for threatened and endangered aquatic species. These agencies often have to use a parcel-by-parcel approach to stream restoration, and therefore, must partner with a number of private landowners in order to implement watershed-scale projects. One obstacle to the formation of these public-private partnerships is landowners often distrust government and are wary of its involvement in private land management matters.

Despite these difficulties, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is having great success implementing watershed-scale stream restoration projects on private land in the North Fork Roanoke watershed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Landowner Incentive Program. Much of this success can be attributed to the formation of a local citizen group, Catawba Landcare. The group, which formed in 2007, is landowner-led and community based, promoting a cooperative, sustainable approach to land management that in turn produces a broad range of economic, social, and environmental benefits (the triple-bottom line) for the landowners and the watershed.

In collaborating with Catawba Landcare, VDGIF has found a means through which to speak to landowners already strongly interested in water quality, recreational fisheries, and the protection of endangered species. Moreover, through Catawba Landcare, knowledge of ongoing stream restoration projects in the watershed spreads quickly, piquing the interest of other landowners. Since 2007, the VDGIF and Catawba Landcare partnership has resulted in 2,965 linear feet of stream and 5 acres of riparian floodplain restoration along the North Fork Roanoke, with another 7,500 linear feet slated to be restored in 2008. As millions of dollars continue to be directed towards stream restoration through both compensatory and voluntary means, the empowering of local landowner groups to protect and restore our waters is proving to be an effective strategic approach to improving stream health on a watershed-scale.