Action Plan

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What is Blue Ridge Rising?

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Blue Ridge Rising is an initiative of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to build regional relationships and foster economic development within the Parkway’s gateway communities. Blue Ridge Rising establishes a collective vision that celebrates our shared culture, protects our unique natural resources, and strengthens the regional economy.

EXPLORE THE PLAN
EXPLORE THE PLAN

Award-Winning Engagement

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Blue Ridge Rising was recognized with the Public Lands Alliance 2025 Outstanding Public Engagement Award for its innovative work to bring gateway communities together around shared regional priorities. This distinction reflects the depth of engagement and collaboration involved in shaping the action plan.

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Community Meetings
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Counties Included
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Local Participants
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How We Built the Plan

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The Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan was developed through a yearlong community engagement effort involving local leaders, residents, and other partners. More than 600 different people attended 30 local meetings, seven regional meetings, and the very first Blue Ridge Rising Two-State Summit. Through all of these efforts, local stakeholders identified shared priorities and developed specific strategies to pursue going forward.

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Action Plan Themes

The Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan includes 51 strategies organized around six key themes: marketing, visitor experience, unified regional voice, resource protection, workforce education, and capacity building. We invite you to explore each theme through the content and links below.
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Marketing

These initiatives serve to connect visitors with Parkway communities, so they stay longer, increase their economic impact, and enjoy lots more of what the region has to offer, from fine food and lodging to music, crafts, and local culture. These strategies will help new and returning visitors discover more reasons to visit and enjoy the entire Parkway corridor.
CURRENT PROJECTSMARKETING PLAN
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Visitor Experience

Our communities know that positive experiences drive both repeat visits and word-of-mouth advertising. These strategies focus on maintaining and improving the Parkway visitor experience and providing new resources to entice and support visitors interested in hiking, cycling, art, music, storytelling, and accessible recreation on and off the Parkway.
CURRENT PROJECTSVISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN
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Unified Regional Voice

These strategies seek to align communities across the Parkway corridor to advance shared priorities through coordinated advocacy. They support collective engagement around policy, funding, and resource decisions that affect the region’s long-term health and vitality.
CURRENT PROJECTSUNIFIED REGIONAL VOICE PLAN

Resource Protection

These strategies support tourism-driven economic development by maintaining the natural resources that draw visitors to the Parkway, including daytime scenic views and nighttime dark skies for stargazing. These efforts show how conservation and economic development can be mutually supportive.
CURRENT PROJECTSRESOURCE PROTECTION PLAN
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Workforce Education

These strategies support both academic studies and hands-on job training to cultivate the Parkway corridor’s workforce of tomorrow, from tourism and hospitality to parks and recreation.
CURRENT PROJECTSWORKFORCE EDUCATION PLAN
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Capacity Building

Implementing this ambitious plan across 29 counties requires funding, staff, strong networks, regular communications, and collective learning–including the annual Two-State Summit.
CURRENT PROJECTSCAPACITY BUILDING PLAN

Browse Available Funding

Grants and donations make it possible for us to secure project consultants and other assistance and to launch grant/subaward programs to support local implementation of regional strategies. Any and all opportunities for contracts/subcontracts and grants/subawards will be posted on BlueRidgeRising.com. For easy access to any open calls for proposals or applications, please click on these links.
VIEW CONTRACT RFPsVIEW GRANT PROGRAMS

Current Needs

We’re busy putting the Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan into action. Please check out the Projects link at the top of the page to see the latest updates.

FIND AND FILL A NEED
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