By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006; VA03

Seeking to preserve the state's most attractive corners for future generations, Scenic Virginia gave out awards and honors this month for various conservation projects along mountains, rivers and byways.

The nonprofit organization, eight years old and based in Richmond, aims "to preserve, protect and enhance the scenic beauty and community character of the commonwealth." It started giving out the annual awards a few years ago.

Counties, cities, towns, organizations and individuals nominate projects that have preserved scenic spots or taken other steps to enhance them.

"We're really looking for the best of the best," said Leighton Powell, the organization's executive director. "It doesn't have to be the biggest project."

In the recent past, Scenic Virginia has given awards for the preservation of scenic views at Monticello and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Powell noted that the North Carolina segment of the parkway had a scenic designation for years. "They've pulled in more tourist dollars than the Virginia portion," he said, "and we're hoping that this will even it out."

Here's a rundown of this year's awards.

· Best Preservation of a Scenic Viewshed, to a group of public and private organizations that collaborated to buy 250 acres to prevent future development on the western ridge and the top of Tinker Mountain, in southern Botetourt and northern Roanoke counties. According to Scenic Virginia, it was the first successful effort of its kind in the Roanoke Valley.

· Best Preservation of a Scenic Water Corridor, to the City of Fredericksburg for protecting 4,200 acres along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers from development.

· Scenic Hero, to Friends of the Rappahannock. The nonprofit organization was praised for two decades of work to promote the river and its tributaries. In recent years, the group successfully pushed for the removal of the Embrey Dam, making the Rappahannock the longest free-flowing river in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

· Best Creative Scenic Improvement, to a coalition of groups that worked on the Capt. John Smith Water & Auto Trail, part of which runs along the James River from Richmond to Newport News. Created by the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation with other state agencies, the section of trail includes a driving tour of 40 sites along the river.

· Best Local Anti-Litter Practices, to the statewide Assign-A-Highway Program, in which people who are on court-ordered probation pick up litter 26 times a year. "The first glimpse many tourists have of Virginia is from the roads, so anything we can do to make them more attractive is going to help business," Powell said.

· Best Implementation of the Virginia Department of Transportation Tree-Trimming Policy, to the Fredericksburg VDOT district for its attention to proper pruning techniques and aesthetic and safety considerations.

· Honorable mention, to the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Board for its conservation work over three decades along the waterway in Loudoun County.

· Honorable mention, to a public-private coalition for converting an abandoned seafood dock with a dilapidated bulkhead into the Robert R. Reed Sr. Downtown Waterfront Park on Chincoteague Island.

Scenic Virginia also issued a warning this year, naming an Endangered Virginia Viewshed. The designation went to a view of the James River from Libby Hill Park in Richmond.

The view gave the city its name because it resembled a view in Richmond upon Thames in England. The Virginia view is threatened by a proposed riverfront development 270 feet high that Powell said would "completely destroy it."

"It is the quintessential Richmond view," she said.

"We firmly believe that a riverfront park is the best solution to preserving that magnificent view, as well as attracting citizens and tourists to our riverfront."