The Cacapon and Lost Rivers are located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's eastern panhandle. Well loved by paddlers and anglers, these American Heritage Rivers are surrounded by a lush valley of wildlife and flora that is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Although still rural and mostly forested, development and land fragmentation in the Cacapon and Lost River Valley have increased over the last decades. Listening to the Land: Stories from the Cacapon and Lost River Valley is a conversation between the people of this Valley and their land, chronicling this community's dedication to preserving its farms, forests, and rural heritage.United around a shared passion for stewardship, the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust and local landowners have permanently protected over 11,000 acres by incorporating local values into permanent conservation action. Despite the economic pressures that have devastated nearby valleys over the past twenty years, natives and newcomers alike have worked to protect this valley by sustaining family homesteads and buying surrounding parcels.This partnership between the Land Trust and the people of this Valley, unprecedented in West Virginia and nationally recognized for its success, greatly enriches historic preservation and conservation movements, bringing to light the need to investigate, pursue, and listen to the enduring connection between people and place.
About the Author: Jamie S. Ross has worked for over thirty years writing, directing and producing documentary work on American history and culture. Most recently she was producer and co-writer of the acclaimed four-part PBS environmental history series, A History of Mountains and Peoples (www.appalachiafilm.org), selected as the Best Video of the Year by the American Library Association. For her work on the series, Ross received the Mountain Hero award from the Mountain Institute. She has been named a National Scholar by the Council on Basic Education and has served as a Fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Tom Cogill is a freelance photographer, born in Hollywood, California and for the past thirty-five years a resident of Charlottesville, Virginia. His work has appeared in US News & World Report, American Heritage, National Geographic, NG Traveler, Science, Nature, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications. For the past 10 years he has worked increasingly in documenting the work of individuals and foundations doing social projects in Latin America. Learn more at www.tomcogill.com.