FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway,  Appalachian State University Chapter

The Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway is the non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving and protecting this national treasure.  Operating under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, FRIENDS has placed emphasis on conservation, public education, and volunteer involvement.

The Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway (ASU Chapter) held its first meeting in November 2007.  It is the first college chapter of the Friends to be formed.  To read more about the FRIENDS formation click here.

The mission of the Appalachian Friends of the Parkway is to help preserve, protect, and promote the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and cultural distinctiveness of the Blue Ridge Parkway and its surrounding scenic landscape, thereby preserving this national treasure for future generations.

So far this year the Appalachian FRIENDS have already been hard at work assisting the National Park Service with dam removal along Sims Creek.  Read the full story here.  In the photo below chapter members fill buckets and a wheelbarrow with debris left from the removal of the Sims Creek dam. 

(© 2008 Appalachian Friends of the Parkway / Heather Paige Preston)

The 2008/2009 officers are as follows:

Nathaniel Smathers, President

Bill MacMinn, Treasurer

Sarah Bradley, Secretary

Heather Preston, Faculty Advisor

View the Club Constitution.

For more information about FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway visit www.blueridgefriends.org