Virginia

In Virginia, the Fund’s network of public and private partnerships is essential to its conservation success. The Fund has protected more than 60,000 acres of the state’s natural and historic landscapes since 1985.

Fort A.P. Hill — Protecting Land As Part of The Army Compatible Use Buffer Program (ACUB)

Development has become a challenge for military installations nationwide as incompatible land uses – primarily residential developments – close to an installation’s boundary can limit training and other military operations. Virginia's Fort A.P. Hill is one of the largest military installations on the East Coast and is located in the third fastest growing county in Virginia. We've been working with Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the landowners around the base to create land preservation agreements that guarantee landowners will keep their land while also ensuring future development will not impact training at Fort A.P. Hill. What have we protected? Read more here >>

Blair’s Wharf: Completing the James River National Wildlife Refuge

In 2010, the Fund transferred 125 acres and nearly a mile of shoreline along the James River in Prince George County to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The Blair’s Wharf tract is a key acquisition for the refuge,” said Refuge Manager Joe McCauley. Blair's Wharf is completely surrounded by the James River National Wildlife Refuge but remained in private ownership until 2008. The USFWS requested the Fund purchase and hold the property until funding became available. Members of the Virginia congressional delegation worked to ensure a series of appropriations for the USFWS to purchase the land from the Fund. The property contains pristine habitat for bald eagles and is completely surrounded by the James River National Wildlife Refuge, which boasts one of the highest concentration of bald eagles east of the Mississippi River.

For more information and a list of all of the partners who participated in this important conservation project, click here.

Short Hills

Virginia residents have new opportunities to hike, fish and hunt along the slopes of the Allegheny Mountains. We provided a critical loan to help the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia protect 4,910 acres in Rockbridge and Botetourt counties on behalf of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Just upstream from the historic Natural Bridge and rimmed by public lands, the property will be open to the public as a new wildlife management area. Over the past decade, we have provided Virginia conservationists with five loans, worth more than $3.8 million. With this support, they have protected over 5,000 acres statewide, valued at more than $10 million.

New River

The New River has wandered for centuries through the scenic landscapes and family farms that characterize the Appalachian region. In southern Virginia, these corridors are increasingly compromised by encroaching development. In 2004 the Fund worked with conservation champions Phil and Charlotte Hanes, New River Land Trust, and Virginia Outdoors Foundation to purchase a conservation easement on the Young Farm. Now 218 acres of farmland and a mile of riverfront are forever protected.

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Similar to other Atlantic and Gulf barrier islands, the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge’s narrow coastline provides habitat for migrating waterfowl. A birder’s paradise, the refuge covers roughly 9,000 acres of barrier island beaches and dunes, shrub-scrub, woodlands, farmlands and fresh and brackish marsh along the Atlantic Ocean and provides habitat for 10,000 migrating and wintering snow geese. The refuge also houses threatened and endangered species, such as the loggerhead sea turtle, piping plover, peregrine falcon and bald eagle.

In 2008 and 2006, the Fund worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add more than 100 acres to Back Bay NWR. The land, located along the Atlantic coast south of Virginia Beach, is bordered by Nannys Creek, a direct tributary to the Back Bay. By closing a critical gap in protected lands along the creek, adding this land to the refuge will improve the refuge’s water quality, increase field and marsh habitat and expand opportunities for wildlife-dependent outdoor recreation.

USFWS plans to reforest the parcel with native hardwoods, including black gum, Atlantic white cedar and bald cypress.  “The story of Back Bay is an evolving one,” said Reggie Hall, real estate associate for The Conservation Fund. “Back Bay has matured from one of the earliest national wildlife refuges to an ongoing conservation success story. This represents the kind of conservation teamwork that makes wildlife habitat protection possible, in Virginia and across the nation.”