The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) today announced $1,699,228 in grants for 9 open space conservation projects.
The grants were awarded from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund, which provides grants for the protection of open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more. To learn more about VOF’s grant programs, visit https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/.
Preservation Trust Fund Grant Recipient Summaries
Grantee: City of Virginia Beach
Project Title: Pleasure House Point Land Preservation & Access
Locality: City of Virginia Beach
Grant Amount: $200,000
Description: An area adjacent to the entrance to Pleasure House Point Natural Area is proposed for development. The City of Virginia Beach would like to purchase the properties to preserve the Natural Area. The property and the adjacent Natural Area include maritime forest, meadow, wetlands, and sandy beaches in a dense area on Lynnhaven Inlet. Protection will preserve natural features, reduce flooding, and maintain the recreation for visitors and on-site Virginia Beach students.
Grantee: Friends of Dragon Run, Inc.
Project Title: Dragon Flats: Protection, Stewardship, and Access
Locality: Middlesex County
Grant Amount: $75,000
Description: The Friends of Dragon Run (FODR) will acquire the 495-acre Dragon Flats property and establish a land management fund that will build FODR’s capacity to steward this and other conserved lands in the Dragon Run watershed for biodiversity and the scenic, place-based educational, and recreational enjoyment of local communities. An open space easement will be granted to VOF to permanently protect the property’s outstanding natural resources, including over 150 acres of bald cypress-tupelo swamp forest.
Grantee: Joseph McGuire Edwards
Project Title: Blackwater 5022
Locality: Southampton County
Grant Amount: $200,000
Description: The Edwards Homeplace sits across the Blackwater River from the Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve. It is a sixth generation homeplace for the Edwards family, and it qualifies as a Virginia Century Farm, though no application has been submitted to date. The owner wishes to protect the Seacock Chapel Swamp drainage that enters the Blackwater River at the property, as well as the prime farmlands that make up the open lands on this property. Full protection is planned of the 24-acre cypress stand valued at $300,000.
Grantee: NDPonics
Project Title: Onkyayun Oheki Indigenous Landscape Protection
Locality: Rockbridge County
Grant Amount: $200,000
Description: This project will protect 786 acres of great significance to Yessàh people of Virginia in perpetuity through an easement held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. This property includes rare, nearly undisturbed forest ecosystems, extensive connectivity with Short Hills Wildlife Management Area, many natural heritage resources including Virginia’s largest and best example of glade spurge, additional globally rare natural community types, as well as 2.5 miles of designated brook trout stream and habitat for the golden winged warbler, a Tier 1 species indicating the need for critical conservation.
Grantee: Northumberland Public Library
Project Title: Northumberland Public Library Pocket Park
Locality: Northumberland County
Grant Amount: $134,228.30
Description: The Northumberland Public Library is establishing a small park on the library property. The park will have a walking trail, gazebo, arbor, and butterfly garden. There will be benches and tables as well as places for people to gather. The intent is to create an outdoor space that is free to everyone, a place where people can enjoy outdoor concerts and movies as well as attend library programs especially during summer reading time.
Grantee: Pathfinders for Greenways, Inc.
Project Title: Trailhead Acquisition, Craig Botetourt Scenic Trail
Locality: Botetourt County
Grant Amount: $200,000
Description: This project is acquisition of 15.65 acres to provide a trailhead near the middle of the 26-mile Craig Botetourt Scenic Trail (CBST). VDOT owns the 100-ft wide railbed, and development of the trail was funded by the General Assembly in 2022. This property, adjacent to the trail, will be donated to VDOT to be part of the CBST project. The acquisition will protect scenic views along 2,200-ft of trail frontage and provide parking for equestrians, bicyclists, and hikers using CBST and adjoining trails.
Grantee: Southampton County
Project Title: Monroe Bridge Boat Ramp and Park
Locality: Southampton County
Grant Amount: $200,000
Description: The Monroe Bridge property lies 5 miles downstream from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Hercules boat ramp on Route 258 south of Franklin. The acquisition of this tract fee-simple provides an opportunity to install a canoe/kayak soft launch boat ramp for a new trail and access on the river for recreational use. There are no public ramps downstream from Hercules, and the majority of the bottomlands in this area are protected by conservation easements and managed for old growth cypress and tupelo systems.
Grantee: The Rotherwood Trust
Project Title: Rotherwood
Locality: Prince Edward County
Grant Amount: $250,000
Description: This owner-operated farm, located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and containing frontage on Bush River, is managed for sheep, cattle, hay, and timber production. Rotherwood, an historic house in excellent condition, was built around 1840 and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The property contains many important resources as identified by models from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the American Farmland Trust, and the Audubon Society.
Grantee: Town of Victoria
Project Title: Modest Creek Transformation
Locality: Lunenburg County
Grant Amount: $240,000
Description: Preserving our environment is essential for community health and vitality. The Modest Creek Transformation Project is dedicated to enhancing and sustaining Modest Creek through a collaborative approach involving communities, organizations, and local governments. By promoting shared responsibility, this initiative will ensure the long-term preservation and ecological balance of Modest Creek, delivering lasting benefits to both the natural environment and the Victoria community.
