The Roanoker - March 2014 - 47

tional Wildlife Federation, and as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture in the
Carter Administration, Cutler moved
to Roanoke in 1990 to escape fast-paced
Washington, D.C., and to help develop
Explore Park's environmental education
program. He quickly integrated into Roanoke environmental politics and, as part
of the Blue Ridge Parkway By-State Commission in 1996, learned about Asheville,
N.C.'s reservoir with an easement on it.
After visiting the reservoir and seeing
the conservation potential an easement
could lend to Carvins Cove, he returned
to Roanoke fired up for the cause.
"I felt there was a need to view the
Cove as a natural area, not just a water
impoundment," Cutler clarifies - and
that distinction is an important one. Cutler wanted
to establish Carvins Cove as not just the water supply
for the Roanoke Valley, but as a natural treasure for
outdoor enthusiasts and environmental education initiatives. Given all the bureaucratic anomalies - before
2004 with the development of the Roanoke Regional
Water Authority, Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and
Salem all used Carvins Cove for water - the easement
actually progressed quickly with the central tenet of
"protecting water quality in perpetuity."
ProteCtIng thIs water suPPly, however,
doesn't mean that you can't have fun at the Cove. In
fact, it's encouraged. Appropriate activities allow for
day-use ranging from mountain biking to kayaking
and nature studies to fishing. While swimming and
hunting aren't allowed, there's still plenty to do - especially on the trails.
Take Jeremy Woods, a special education teacher and
cross country and track coach at William Byrd High
School in Vinton. He not only runs by himself at the
Cove, but also brings his cross-country team to the
trails to introduce them to running on different terrain.
"It's great to watch them start out on the fire road and
get their footing." he says. "We then run Enchanted Forest and eventually work up to Songbird," he tells me one
morning when we meet up at Carvins to talk. "They hate
Songbird though - too many hills," he laughs.
Too many hills for the high school students, maybe,
but everyone I interviewed seemed to agree - Songbird
is one of the best trails at the Cove.
"It's like riding a roller coaster," says Henry Smith, an
endurance horseback rider. Smith, along with his wife
Leslie, can be found at the Cove once or twice a week
training their Arabians on the trails. I came across them
one afternoon when I was biking and was immediately
impressed with how well trained their horses were.
The

R oanoker.com

t Immediate left: Kyle
and Ryan Little ride the
Four Gorges Trail.
Center: The Enchanted
Forest Trail lives up to
its name with a soft,
beautiful pathway.
Far left: Rob and Andrew
Issem help build a new
trail.

RKR

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MARCH/APRIL 2014

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The Roanoker - March 2014

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