History of DRBA

Our Mission:  The Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) protects and promotes the Dan River Basin through recreation, education and stewardship.

Outdoor enthusiasts and concerned citizens organized the Dan River Basin Association in 2002 to preserve and promote the wilderness-like rivers of this border region of Piedmont North Carolina and Virginia. Faced with the decline of tobacco and textiles, our traditional economic bases, leaders in the Basin's counties recognize the increasing importance of the abundant high-quality water in this 3300-square-mile region. In addition to its economic value as a water source and its historical significance as a means of transportation, this river system can provide excellent recreational opportunities to the 1.5 million citizens who live within an hour's drive.

The Association's founders are promoting the rivers for multiple uses, including recreation and commercial and municipal growth. We believe that, with careful planning, natural and cultural preservation and economic development can occur hand-in-hand. The unspoiled rivers, the region's unique and greatest resource, will be at the center as the sixteen counties of the Basin build a diverse economy, which must be based in part on new ideas. The Dan River Basin Association believes that providing outdoor recreation is essential to the region's quality of life and its ability to draw new investment.

The Dan River Basin Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in North Carolina and Virginia, with basin-wide membership and directors representing both states, and offices and professional staff in Collinsville, Virginia and Eden, North Carolina.