SPARE America's Wildlands

Mattaponi River, Virginia

The Mattaponi River in Virginia's King William County and King and Queen County is home to eagles, shad and the Mattaponi American Indian tribe. The tribe members - descendants of Chief Powhatan and his daughter, Pocahontas - live on the Mattaponi River on one of the oldest reservations in the United States.

But a new reservoir proposed by the City of Newport News would divert as much as 75 million gallons of water a day from the river - destroying more than 400 acres of forested wetlands and jeopardizing the Mattaponi tribe's shad fishery. Even though three independent studies have concluded that Newport News does not need the water, the city and its mayor are moving forward with the King William Reservoir.

Help the Sierra Club, the Mattaponi Tribe and other conservation groups persuade the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Newport News to save the Mattaponi River.

Photo courtesy Sharon Saari

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