The New River begins as two small streams found in the northwestern North Carolina's highest mountains. The river flows north into Virginia and West Virginia, and eventually becomes part of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
In the mid 1970s, almost 30 miles of this beautiful, ancient river and numerous multi-generational farms along its course were almost lost to an ill-conceived hydro-electric project.
In this episode of Exploring North Carolina, see the story of the New River and its salvation following an epic political and conservation struggle that ended in its designation as a “Wild and Scenic River” by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
