In response to growing public interest, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s scheduled November 6 Board of Trustees meeting has been relocated to Senate Room A in the General Assembly Building at Capitol Square in Richmond.
Details about the meeting, including agenda and background materials, may be found here. Details are still evolving and will be finalized no later than Monday, November 3.
Anyone who would like to submit written comments for this meeting may email them to bcabibbo@vofonline.org or mail them to VOF’s Warrenton office. Comments must include your name, address, and daytime phone number for verification purposes, or they will not be accepted as part of the official meeting record. Comments received before 5pm on October 31, 2014 will be provided to the trustees in advance of the meeting.
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation will be expanding the public comment period at its Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, November 6, 2014 in Richmond in order to accommodate growing interest in several agenda items.
Details about the meeting can be found here. The full agenda and background materials will be posted by close of business on Monday, November 3.
Among the topics expected to be addressed at the meeting are two dozen new land conservation projects, as well as stewardship-related requests from Washington and Lee University, Loudoun County, and a Fauquier County landowner.
Fauquier County landowner Piedmont Agriculture Academy LLC, represented by owner Martha Boneta of Paris, Va., and legal counsel William Hurd, will make a 20-minute presentation requesting that VOF consider accepting a voluntary assignment of a conservation easement that is currently co-held with the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), a private land trust based in Warrenton. Ms. Boneta and Mr. Hurd will explain the reasons for the request, and PEC will be given 20 minutes to provide its own information.
Supporters of Ms. Boneta are planning to hold a rally prior to the board meeting, and VOF has been told that many of these supporters may wish to speak during the public comment period about the issue. Normally, the public comment period is less than 10 minutes, but because of the increased interest and desire to accommodate the public, the period is being expanded to 20 minutes. Individual speakers will be limited to three minutes.
Anyone who would like to submit written comments may email them to bcabibbo@vofonline.org or mail them to VOF’s Warrenton office. Comments must include your name, address, and daytime phone number for verification purposes, or they will not be accepted as part of the official meeting record. Comments received before 5pm on October 31, 2014 will be provided to the trustees in advance of the meeting.
“As a public agency with public board meetings, VOF strives to accommodate public input,” says VOF Executive Director Brett Glymph. “As an organization whose work is primarily based in partnerships with private landowners and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies, it’s also very important to our trustees that when an issue arises that merits special attention, our landowners and partners are given the opportunities they need to find a resolution.”
Update: The Highland Recorder reported in August that the Spectra proposal has been suspended.
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation has learned that three energy companies—Dominion Resources Inc., Spectra Energy, and EQT Corporation—are developing natural gas transmission line proposals that could traverse areas of Virginia where VOF holds a significant number of open-space easements. We want to make certain that any of these pipelines, if constructed, will not impair the conservation values protected by our easements.
It is our understanding that these projects are in the earliest planning period and that no determinations have been made as to the precise location or details of the pipelines. VOF has shared information with the gas companies regarding the location of our easements and, in order to ensure easement compliance, requested that we be consulted prior to conducting any survey work that involves clearing of vegetation, earth disturbance, or use of motor vehicles, self-propelled machinery, or power equipment. We will continue to gather as much information as we can on all of the proposed pipelines.
Whenever utility expansion is proposed on an easement property, VOF must take into account all of the protected conservation values as well as the clear language of the restrictions. Our current language for utilities in our easement template ensures that the construction and maintenance of public or private utilities will not impair the conservation values of the property.
VOF has permitted public and private underground lines to cross easements after analyzing the impacts to the protected resources and making the determination that those resources would remain unharmed. Some examples of protected resources that could be negatively impacted by an underground line include archaeological resources, karst resources, no-cut zones in forested areas, and specially protected habitat areas.
VOF will monitor the progress of the proposed projects, and we encourage our landowners and partners to keep us informed of new information they may receive.
Nowhere is the demand for conservation easements more evident than in Southside—a region stretching along the Virginia-North Carolina border from Patrick to Dinwiddie.
Approximately 40 percent of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s new easement acreage in 2013 was recorded in Southside. Halifax County led the state last year with 9,140 newly protected acres of farmland, forest, and other open space.
The largest easement, in both Halifax and the state, was donated by the Rowland family on Falkland Farms, a 7,312-acre farm near Scottsburg. It is one of the largest contiguous private properties in Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and contains nearly 10 miles of frontage along the headwaters of the John H. Kerr Reservoir, and the Dan, Bannister, and Hyco rivers.
A second Halifax easement was donated by Delegate James Edmunds on his 872-acre farm, Elm Hill, in South Boston. About 82 percent of the farm’s soils are designated as prime farming soils by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and 39 percent of the timber is classified as having a “High Forest Conservation Value” by the Virginia Department of Forestry. The property fronts a designated Scenic Byway for nearly two miles and Birch Creek for more than a mile.
“Elm Hill is part of an original land grant to Nicholas Edmunds, my ancestor, and now most of that parcel is back together and in the Edmunds’ ownership,” says Del. Edmunds, who is a long-time supporter of conservation easements. “This farm means a great deal to me, and it gives me great peace in knowing that it will be preserved in its original farming state forever. The easement was an easy decision and provided the perfect tool to keep the land in its current state for my children, grandchildren, and descendents for years to come.”
Noting the region’s trend, VOF’s Sherry Buttrick says, “Southside is rich in open space and natural resources, and as more people in the region become familiar with the easement program and the tax benefits of land conservation, we are seeing them protect more of their land for farming, forestry, and other rural land uses.”
At its April 22 meeting, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted that, going forward, it will decline to accept charitable gifts of easement that retain rights for on-site oil and gas drilling.
The decision was made after extensive research and input gathering, which included a VOF-hosted public forum in Fredericksburg on March 13.
Although VOF’s standard conservation easements have always prohibited all forms of mining, the agency has occasionally, at the request of the landowner, allowed limited extraction of oil and gas from the surface of the property, subject to restrictions designed to protect conservation values.
In 2012, the VOF trustees adopted additional restrictions for easements with retained oil and gas rights. As interest has grown in Virginia to explore for natural gas, the number of landowners requesting retained oil and gas rights has increased. The board expressed concern that this increasing demand could present challenges to its resources in the future, and several trustees also expressed concerns about potential adverse impacts that natural gas exploration could have on protected lands.
For easements that already include retained drilling rights, VOF will vigorously enforce the restrictions to ensure that conservation values remain protected. To date, no one has exercised retained drilling rights on a VOF easement.
“We thank the many partners, agencies, landowners, and citizens who have given us their input on this issue over the last few years,” said Board of Trustees Chair Stephanie Ridder. “VOF will do whatever we can to protect open spaces and the environment now and for future generations.”
It’s one thing for a farm to stay intact for 350 years. It’s another thing for a farm to stay in the same family for that long.
Next year, Locust Grove will achieve both.
The King and Queen farm has been owned and operated by the Walker family since February 26, 1665, when the King of England granted the land to Major Thomas Walker. Sitting high above the Mattaponi River just downstream from the village of Walkerton, the 634-acre property has survived thanks to the hard work and dedication of 12 generations of Walkers.
Last year, the current owners —siblings Missie and Jerry Walker, and Jerry’s wife, Cecky—ensured the farm’s future as open space by donating a conservation easement to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
The easement limits divisions and buildings on a property that is a developer’s dream, given its proximity to Richmond and million-dollar views of one of the state’s most scenic tidal rivers.
It also protects a wealth of cultural and natural resources.
From left, Cecky and Jerry Walker discuss their easement with Estie Thomas of VOF and Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
An archeological resource on the property, Fort Mattapony, is listed on the National Register and was used by Mattaponi Indians for protection against hostile tribes from the north. (The family still enjoys a close relationship with the tribe.)
Today, the Walkers manage the land mostly for small grain and turf production. More than half of the soils on the farm are designated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as Prime Farmland. To supplement their farming income, the family makes Locust Grove available for weddings, reunions, festivals, Scouting activities, meetings, art shows, and other events. They host an annual Wine & Arts Festival, as well as an annual Christmas art show that is free to the public.
The property’s most striking feature, though, is the 1.5 miles of frontage it shares with the Mattaponi River. Not only is this stretch of the river popular with boaters and anglers, but it is also home to a wealth of plants and animals, including several rare species. The easement protects more than 16,000 feet of forested riparian buffers on the river and several tributaries—all helping to prevent erosion and runoff from polluting the water.
In April, the easement was recognized for its exceptional public benefits when the McAuliffe Administration presented the Walkers with a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award.
Locust Grove was one of several properties along the Mattaponi that went under easement last year. Another was on an 875-acre easement across the river on a farm called Enfield. Together, the easements illustrate a trend among Tidewater landowners to protect what remains of the region’s riverfront farmland.
Explaining the trend to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jerry Walker said, “The people involved are my age or older…. They’re looking at it as a way to hold onto these farms for themselves and their children.”
Governor Terry McAuliffe recently appointed Stephanie Ridder, of Flint Hill, Va., to be the new Chair of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Ms. Ridder grew up in Fairfax County and has lived with her husband, John Beardsley, on their VOF-protected farm in Rappahannock County for the past 34 years. They board horses, raise organic hay and are creating a pollinator meadow on the farm. Steph got her B.A. from Harvard University and her J.D. from the University of Virginia. She worked for the Rappahannock Legal Services Corporation in Fredericksburg and then in Culpeper representing low-income Virginians. She is currently teaching at the George Washington University Law School. Steph has served on the boards of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, Virginians Against Domestic Violence, and the Piedmont Environmental Council, among others. She is currently serving as the chair of the Child Care and Learning Center in Rappahannock and on the board of the Krebser Fund, an advisory board to PEC.
“As an easement donor herself, Ms. Ridder is deeply committed to VOF’s mission,” said VOF Executive Director Brett Glymph. “We look forward to her leadership as we work to achieve the Commonwealth’s land conservation goals.”
VOF is governed by a board of seven at-large trustees appointed by the Governor for four-year staggered terms. The Governor appoints a chair from among the seven trustees. The Board of Trustees meets at least three times per year to review easement projects and policy matters.
Videos from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s March 13, 2014 forum about conservation easements and oil and gas production are now accessible through VOF’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/vofonline.
The approximately 4.5-hour forum has been divided into three segments, featuring each of the three main presenters: Michael Ward of the Virginia Petroleum Council, Kate Wofford of the Shenandoah Valley Network, and Reneé Carey of the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy.
The third segment includes nearly 1.5 hours of public comments and questions regarding VOF’s policies that allow some donors of conservation easements to retain limited mineral rights that open the door to potential subsurface oil and gas drilling on the properties.
Additional resources related to this issue can be found below. Anyone who wishes to comment on VOF’s policies regarding retained mineral rights on easements may submit comments to Jason McGarvey, communications and outreach manager, at jmcgarvey@vofonline.org.
About 80 people attended a VOF-sponsored forum in Fredericksburg on March 13 to discuss the issue of natural gas extraction on conservation easements.
The four-hour forum featured presentations from the Shenandoah Valley network, Virginia Petroleum Council, and Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy. Nearly two hours were devoted to questions and comments from the public, including several environmental groups.
For most of its 47-year history, VOF has allowed some easement donors to retain limited oil and gas rights as long as those rights were consistent with federal tax law and VOF felt the rights would not jeopardize the conservation values of the easements.
In 2012, in response to concerns about the expansion of horizontal hydraulic fracturing in Virginia, VOF increased its restrictions in easements with retained oil and gas rights. Some members of the environmental community felt that the restrictions did not go far enough and are asking VOF to consider prohibiting all forms of oil and gas development on all of its easements.
Thursday’s forum was designed to solicit additional input from the public prior to VOF’s next board of trustees meeting on April 22, where the board is expected to consider these policies further.
Comments submitted during the forum, as well as video, presentations, and other information from the event, will be posted on VOF’s website later next week. Additional comments may be submitted any time to jmcgarvey@vofonline.org.
Conservation easements are voluntary agreements between private landowners and a qualified land trust such as VOF that limit development while allowing farming, forestry, and other uses that do not permanently destroy the conservation values of the property.
VOF holds easements on more than 729,000 acres—nearly the size of Rhode Island.
Editor’s note: This piece was published in the February 3, 2014 print edition of the Virginian-Pilot, in response to the paper’s criticism of VOF’s policies about oil and gas extraction on conservation easements.
In its January 27 editorial “Conservation, Not Fracking,” the Virginian-Pilot asserted that two years ago the Virginia Outdoors Foundation “changed its easement language specifically to allow hydraulic fracturing—fracking—for oil and gas on lands protected by VOF agreements.”
As we told the paper in October when it first wrote about this issue, that assertion is false.
VOF’s standard easements do not permit drilling of any kind. However, easements are the result of voluntary negotiations between VOF and landowners, and when landowners have requested to retain limited mineral rights, we have occasionally allowed it under two conditions: that the retained rights comply fully with federal laws, and that the easements include any restrictions that VOF feels are necessary to protect the conservation purposes of the agreement.
On older easements, the restrictions were more permissive. As we learned more about oil and gas drilling over the years, we increased our restrictions.
Which brings us to 2012.
That year, after many months of research on the latest oil and gas technologies, VOF staff proposed and the board accepted new restrictions meant to protect our easements from impacts associated with, among things, hydraulic fracturing. Our new restrictions went above and beyond our older restrictions. For example, several surface activities associated with fracking that were previously unrestricted were now clearly restricted.
Do the restrictions prohibit fracking? No. Nor do they allow it. Rather, they establish a set of binding and permanent conditions that any activity—fracking or otherwise—would have to comply with. We also retain the right to review and approve any plan before drilling begins.
The bottom line is that our policies are in entirely consistent with tax laws governing easements, standard practices in the land conservation community, and our role as a state agency serving the public. If anything, the 2012 changes to our policies made our protections stronger.
Just as oil and gas technologies evolve, so do our policies. We will be seeking public input at a forum on this issue in Fredericksburg in March. Details will be posted at vof.org in the coming weeks. We welcome all input on this very important issue.
