The Catawba and North Fork valleys in southwest Virginia span the county border dividing Roanoke and Montgomery counties. These valleys, situated between Brush Mountain and North Mountain to the north, and Paris Mountain and Catawba Mountain to the south, roughly define the watersheds of their namesake waterways, Catawba Creek and the North Fork of the Roanoke River, respectively. These two waterways are part of two larger distinctive watersheds. Catawba Creek, located mainly in Roanoke County, is part of the Upper James River watershed, which in turn is a watershed with the Chesapeake Bay drainage; and the North Fork of the Roanoke River, located in Montgomery and Roanoke counties, flows into the Roanoke River proper, and eventually to Albemarle Sound in North Carolina.

These valleys are mainly agricultural land, incorporating both livestock and crop production on farms operating along the length of them. Located between the Town of Blacksburg and the City of Roanoke, with mountains, streams, open space, forests, and working farmlands, these valleys are considered valuable in distinct ways. The monetary value of the properties situated in these valleys is one way to determine the worth of the land. According to one local land trust director, agricultural land that was valued at $1,000 per acre a few years ago is now (in 2007) being sold for $5,000 to $10,000 per acre.2 The New River Valley Planning District Commission's 2006 Regional Databook has this area's development potential ranked as high intensity,3 indicating its increased value for development.

Another value placed on this land is the cultural heritage and quality of life it provides. Like many places in the state of Virginia and in rural regions around the country, development and subdivisions are changing the traditional uses of the land. In 1997, the American Farmland Trust released a report ranking Virginia #11 in most rapid agricultural land loss, with a 76% increase in that rate of loss since 1992. The Catawba and North Fork Valleys are representative of those figures. Include the consideration that the town of Blacksburg, home to Virginia Tech, saw a population increase of 14.4% between 1990 and 2000, as compared to an average of 8.2% for the region,4 with much of that increase spilling out into surrounding regions.

One response to these changes has been the promotion of conservation easements. Local land trust organizations (Western Virginia Land Trust and New River Land Trust) have a strong presence in these valleys and have facilitated hundreds of acres being placed in conservation easements. But easements as a means of conserving land are not the preferred solution for all landowners. For example, two local cattle producers I spoke with in July 2007 felt strongly that easements should not be the only means of promoting conservation practices and that other opportunities should be made available.

It was out of such concerns that Catawba LandCare emerged.