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Land Trust Secures New Easement Here
Valley Conservation Council recently announced that it has changed its name to Shenandoah Valley Conservancy.
The change, officials say, better reflects the organization’s evolving identity as the only nationally accredited land trust exclusively working to protect the lands and waters of the Shenandoah Valley region.
The Conservancy’s service area includes 11 counties, including Rockbridge.
Bolstered by recent funding and grants, the Conservancy is making significant strides at carrying out its mission of land protection on a meaningful scale across the Valley, said Executive Director Peter Hujik.
The name change, he said, reflects a deeper strategic realignment within the organization, anchoring it in place and providing solid footing for additional support from all who recognize the Valley’s critical importance.
“The Valley’s conservation landscape has evolved significantly since our founding nearly 35 years ago,” said Hujik. “The Conservancy is also evolving and sharpening our focus on the most vulnerable lands and waters in the region. The threats are real and the stakes are high, but we are thrilled with the strong momentum conservation work has gained across the region as more begin to recognize the significance of this place we all cherish. We are passionate about our work and grateful to our donors and partners who make it possible for us to advance our ambitious and critical landscape conservation mission. We see that momentum only continuing to increase.”
The Valley’s conservation value is growing in regional, national and even global significance, Hujik said. Located at the intersection of the Appalachian Mountains and Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Valley falls within an area of worldwide significance, encompassing a rich matrix of working farms and forests, including several of the top producing agricultural areas in Virginia, and a globally significant biodiversity hotspot, he said.
With changing weather patterns, preserving prime soils and clean water in resilient landscapes like the Shenandoah Valley is now more important than ever, said Hujik.
In fact, national conservation organization The Nature Conservancy was recently awarded $47.2 million for Virginia alone as part of a historic multi-state coalition grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The funds will be used to conserve forests and improve forest management across the Central Appalachians and Southeastern Virginia via partnership with organizations operating in the region, further underscoring the critical role the area plays in mitigating climate change, said Hujik.
Shenandoah Valley Conservancy has already secured five easements and permanently protected almost 1,000 acres of additional land and more than two miles of waterways since the start of the year. This brings the total acreage of privately protected lands in the Valley to over 220,000 acres with over 40 additional easements in progress, seven of which the organization hopes to close by the end of the year.
One of the recent easements the Conservancy secured was one that permanently protects Poorhouse Mountain in Rockbridge County from development. The mountain rises 1,600 feet above the Valley floor and Maury River below and is clearly visible from the city of Lexington, House Mountain, and Hogback Mountain.
Shenandoah Valley Conservancy is a nonprofit, nationally accredited land trust dedicated to advancing conservation priorities in the Shenandoah Valley and adjacent Alleghany Highlands by strategically protecting farms, forests and waterways.
Landowners who are interested in learning more about protecting their land with conservation easements may contact staff at easements@shenandoah. org.
AN EASEMENT to preserve Poorhouse Mountain in Rockbridge County was among the most recent secured through Shenandoah Valley Conservancy, formerly the Valley Conservation Council.
