Working to Protect the James
Riverkeeper David Sligh (Col ’82) monitors health of a mighty river
BY PAUL WOODY
David Sligh (Col ’82) is likely to be wading in the slimy gunk of a shallow stream one day, then sitting in a courtroom the next, observing the proceedings of an environmental case he helped prepare.
Some might call that an unusual way to go through life.
Sligh calls it his “dream job.”
Sligh is a Riverkeeper, an advocate for and protector of the upper James River and all its tributaries. He is the second one to be hired by the James River Association, the Richmond-based non-profit organization whose mission is to serve as the guardian of the James.
“We’re thrilled to bring Dave to the Riverkeeper job,” says William H. Street (Com ’87), executive director of the JRA. “His technical and legal knowledge, his familiarity with the river and his family history of involvement with the river make him the complete package for the job.”
Sligh’s office is in Charlottesville, but you won’t find him there often. He stays busy exploring and studying the 6,000- to 7,000-square-mile watershed of the James that stretches from the Allegheny Mountains in Bath and Highland counties to the rapids around Richmond.
Sligh gets around by canoe, kayak or john boat. Sometimes, he is slogging through weeds and thick undergrowth, searching for a small stream that feeds into the James.
“This is a job I’ve been preparing for my whole career,” Sligh said one recent afternoon as he explored several streams in Goochland and Powhatan counties. “It’s kind of neat to get here.”
Sligh, 47, grew up in Botetourt County. Both sides of his family have had a long, loving interest in the outdoors.
 “By the time I was in my early teens, I was an environmental nerd,” he says, laughing. “I applied to U.Va. largely because of the environmental science program. I never considered majoring in anything else.”
Since graduation, he has worked for the state Department of Environmental Quality, the state Water Control Board, as executive director of the Soque River Watershed Association in Clarkesville, Ga., and for American Rivers, a national conservation group.
In 1995, Sligh re-entered the classroom, this time at the University of Vermont law school.
“I decided that knowing the science and how things worked technically was a great thing,” Sligh says. “But it also is important to learn how to work the levers that make policy and the laws.
“That’s part of what I like to do—make science and the law work together.”
Since June, Sligh has been working on the James River and the land that surrounds it. When he is in the field, he does not hesitate to step into a stream, measure the water temperature and get hands-on with the, well, the muck that impedes too many creeks and streams.
“The river is incredibly valuable, but so are these streams,” he says. “These streams are the capillaries to the main artery.”
Sligh has the perfect temperament to connect with the people who live along those streams. He’s personable, outgoing and quickly puts people at ease.
“I’m sure that’s a result of the good liberal arts education he received at U.Va.,” Street says, laughing. “The job Dave is doing is a critical component for a healthy James River.”
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