.jpg)
Natural Bridge State Park has been operating like any of the other state parks in Virginia the past seven years, with one peculiar distinction – the state didn’t own it. The Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund acquired the iconic limestone arch and accompanying 1,500 acres in 2014 from Angelo Puglisi when the long-time Natural Bridge owner was preparing to subdivide and auction off the property.
Motivated by a desire to prevent the breakup and commercial development of Natural Bridge, VCLF purchased the property with a Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan through the Department of Environmental Quality. Though VCLF owned the property, debt payments on the loan were made by the state, primarily through revenues generated by NBSP. Under this arrangement, the state was unable to fund capital improvements on the property. The idea was to eventually have the state take ownership of Natural Bridge State Park.
At Monday’s meeting of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, County Administrator Spencer Suter announced that NBSP “has finally transitioned to fee simple ownership by the Commonwealth of Virginia.” He said that the Trust for Public Land, which acquired the property last year and took over the debt payments, had transferred ownership of NBSP to the state on June 15. He noted that this date just happened to be the 86th anniversary of the establishment of the Virginia state park system.
The transaction was made possible by an appropriation of $6.8 million approved by the General Assembly during last year’s session to pay off the remaining debt on the Natural Bridge loan. Sen. Emmett Hanger, who used to represent parts of the Rockbridge area and who is set to retire this year, sponsored the budget amendment, with support from other local legislators, including Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Terry Austin and the late Del. Ronnie Campbell.
We as a community are indebted to these legislators for securing the funding that will ensure the iconic stone structure, namesake for our county and top tourist attraction, continues to be accessible to the public. Local and state officials, numerous individuals and an organization that was formed for this purpose, Friends of Natural Bridge, have all contributed to these efforts.
It all began when Suter, only months into his employment in Rockbridge County, received a phone call from Jim Woltz of Woltz & Associates, a Roanoke-based real estate brokerage and auctioneering firm, in the spring of 2013. Woltz informed Suter of the pending subdivision and auction of the Natural Bridge property. That phone call set into motion a series of events that led to Natural Bridge becoming a state park in 2016 and a state-owned property earlier this month.
Each of the three local governments – the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, Buena Vista City Council and Lexington City Council – have been supportive of these efforts, passing resolutions seeking the state’s intervention so as to preserve public access to Natural Bridge.
Improvements have been made to NBSP in recent years, even though the state was prevented from contributing to the funding of such upgrades due to not owning the property. A series of hiking trails have been added and upgraded. The park has achieved dark sky designation to enhance the experience of stargazing. A disc golf course recently opened at the park. Now, however, NBSP is to be on equal footing with Virginia’s 40 other state parks, when it comes to divvying up state funding for capital improvements. One such project that could be in line for state funding in the future is an extension of public water from the Rockbridge Public Service Authority’s Buck Hill system to NBSP.
“We’re part of the rest of the family now,” said NBSP manager Jim Jones.
We are indeed fortunate to have a fully stateowned and operated park in our midst that is part of this grand family. We thank all who contributed to these efforts over the past 10 years.
