RICHMOND – May 1, 2008 – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today joined the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, state officials, land conservation organizations, local land trusts and citizen groups to celebrate the recent acquisition of 1,770 acres of waterfront property in Stafford County known as Crow’s Nest. Believed to be one of the largest and most significant natural areas remaining on the east coast, Crow’s Nest has been the target of conservation organizations for decades.
“Crow’s Nest is a tremendously significant piece of property and its purchase will preserve it for generations to come,” Governor Kaine said. “We celebrate an outstanding partnership that made it happen.”
Located between Potomac and Accokeek creeks, the Crow’s Nest peninsula’s hardwood forests, shorelines and deep ravines are home to numerous rare species and significant natural communities. Efforts to acquire the property as a park or natural area date to the early 1970s.
Last December, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted to enter into an agreement to purchase 1,770 acres of the property for $19 million and to put a two-year option on an additional 1,100 acres.
“Crow’s Nest is truly a Stafford County treasure, a Virginia treasure, even a national treasure,” said George Schwartz, Chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors. “The protection of Crow’s Nest is something the people of Stafford have wanted for some time.”
Funding for the initial acquisition came from several state and federal sources. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which will manage the land as a Virginia Natural Area Preserve, used $6.7 million from a 2002 general obligation bond and a statewide conservation tax checkoff fund. DCR also secured a $3.1 million grant from the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund managed by The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Stafford County also secured a $9.5 million loan from the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Land Fund managed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
“Today is truly a celebration of the protection of a spectacular conservation property and a recognition that persistence pays off,” said DCR Director Joseph H. Maroon. “But it is not a culmination. There is much more work to do in determining the best way to manage Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve and in finding funds to purchase the 1,100 acres that remain under option.”
Virginia Natural Area Preserves provide access to the public for activities such as hiking, wildlife observation and canoeing. Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve will remain closed until funding for staffing is in place and access improvements have been made.
The acquisition of Crow’s Nest brings the total acreage in the Virginia Natural Area Preserves system to more than 45,000 acres. It also brings progress on Governor Kaine’s goal to conserve an additional 400,000 acres of land by the end of 2010 to well over 250,000 acres.
