Virginia Outdoors Foundation

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth." As of 2017, it owns 3,366 acres (13.62 km2) of public land[1] and holds and manages conservation easements on approximately 801,077 acres (1,251.68 sq mi; 3,241.84 km2) of private land.[2]

Members of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation's Board of Trustees are appointed by the Virginia governor for four-year staggered terms. The sitting governor appoints a chairman from among the seven trustees.[3]

Among the properties that the Virginia Outdoors Foundation currently protects through conservation easements are Carvins Cove Natural Reserve[4] and Mill Mountain[5] owned by the City of Roanoke, Wildwood Park[6] in the City of Radford, Shirley Plantation[7] in Charles City County, James Madison's Montpelier[8] in Orange County, the Hermitage Museum and Gardens[9] in the City of Norfolk, and more than 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land along the Rappahannock River owned by the City of Fredericksburg.[10] In cooperation with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation also helps manage the 4,996-acre (20.22 km2) Smith Mountain Cooperative Wildlife Management Area, established via easement on land owned by Appalachian Power along Smith Mountain Lake.[11]

As of 2008, twenty percent of the land in Clarke County, Virginia was covered by conservation easements.[12]

  1. ^ "Virginia Outdoors Foundation VOF Reserves". Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  2. ^ "Virginia Outdoors Foundation Easements & Acres by Locality". Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Virginia Outdoors Foundation Board of Trustees". Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Adams, Mason. "Easement protects land at Carvins Cove". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  5. ^ Harvey, Neil. "Kaine announces easements to protect Mill Mountain". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  6. ^ Matzke-Fawcett, Amy. "Radford puts park in conservation easement". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  7. ^ Shirley Plantation Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, Governor Kaine Announces Shirley Plantation Easement Donation.
  8. ^ Schemmer, Clint. "Montpelier land being saved". The Free Lance-Star. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  9. ^ McGarvey, Jason. "VOF's first easement in Norfolk protects a cultural and natural gem". Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  10. ^ City of Fredericksburg Archived 2011-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, City Manager's office.
  11. ^ "Smith Mountain Cooperative". Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  12. ^ Oleniacz, Laura (October 20, 2008). "One-fifth of Clarke is protected". The Winchester Star. Retrieved 2008-10-20. [dead link]