- Western Virginia Land Trust
The Western Virginia Land Trust (WVLT) is a non-profit
land trust headquartered inRoanoke, Virginia that seeks to preserve the wilderness and farmlands in the western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia (not the State of West Virginia) from excessive commercial development. WVLT's service area contains ten counties: Bedford, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick and Roanoke.Conservation efforts
Since 1996, WVLT has been credited with protecting more than 56,000 acres of land. [cite news|url=http://ourvalley.org/news.php?viewStory=3255|title=Landowner protects 1.25 miles of stream, beaver habitat with wetlands easement|date= September 9, 2008 |work=Our Valley|accessdate=2008-10-03] In 2008, the WVLT received the largest conservation easement ever donated in Virginia: 6,185 acres in
Carvins Cove Natural Reserve , donated by the City of Roanoke, Viginia [cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/159075|title=Easement protects land at Carvins Cove|last= Adams|first=Mason|date= Tuesday, April 22, 2008|work=The Roanoke Times|accessdate=2008-10-02] [http://www.landtrustalliance.org/community/Regions/mid_atlantic/success-stories/wv-11000-acres] . The easement was designed to protect 14 miles of the viewshed from theAppalachian Trail as well as a major source of the drinking water supply for theRoanoke Valley . This easment included Carvins Cove, the second-largest city park in the United States and the largest east of the Mississippi. [ [http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/ccpe_100LargestCityParks.pdf The Trust for Public Land – The 100 Largest City Parks] Accessed 2008-10-02]In August 2008, WVLT worked to preserve more than a mile of a
Chesapeake Bay tributary stream and a wetland the size of 16 football fields in Botetourt County, VA. [http://ourvalley.org/news.php?viewStory=3255]Donations
In April 2008, WVLT donated 145 acres adjacent to the
Grassy Hill Natural Area Preserve to theVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation . [cite news|url=http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/western_virginia_land_trust_donates_franklin_county_land_to_state/16032/|title=Western Virginia Land Trust donates Franklin County land to state|date= August 22, 2008|work=WSLS 10|accessdate=2008-10-03] [cite news|url=http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=11681&back=archives|title=Land donation to Grassy Hill Preserve welcome|date=Wednesday, August 27, 2008|work=The Franklin News-Post|accessdate=2008-10-03]Awards
In 2004, [http://www.scenicvirginia.org Scenic Virginia] honored WVLT with its "Best Preservation of a Scenic Viewshed" award for preservation work along the Blue Ridge Parkway. [http://www.scenicvirginia.org/2004.html] In 2006, Scenic Virginia presented WVLT and a group of partners the same award for their efforts in preserving Tinker Mountain. [http://www.scenicvirginia.org/2006.html] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401418_pf.html]
References
External links
* [http://www.westernvirginialandtrust.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.wvtf.org/news_and_notes/audio/ee-9-4-07.mp3 WVTF public radio profile (MP3)]
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