| Contact Information | Date |
|---|---|
| For Immediate Release Contact: Mike Santucci 434.220.9182 |
January 19, 2012 VDOF 12006 |
VDOF Records Working Forest Easement in Halifax County
Blue Wing LLC has granted to the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) a conservation easement that protects 1,029 acres of working forestland in Halifax County. The easement combines two tax parcels into a single property whose future development is restricted, conserving a large block of forestland in perpetuity.
Located two miles west of Virgilina, the Blue Wing easement is now almost entirely forested. The woodland is a combination of longleaf pine, shortleaf pine and loblolly pine plantations, hardwood stands, and riparian forests, all of which are actively managed under a Forest Stewardship Management Plan. The easement will help maintain a working forest land base ensuring a continuous supply of forest products, wildlife habitat, and natural benefits, including clean air and water.
The Blue Wing donation was the second VDOF easement recorded in Halifax County in 2011, both of which are greater than 1,000 acres. It was one of 24 VDOF easements recorded on 8,005 acres last year, and brings the total program acreage to just under 20,000 acres conserved in five years. VDOF now holds four easements covering 3,649 acres in Halifax County.
Blue Wing LLC purchased the tract in 1994, the culmination of a search for good hunting grounds. Dr. Carlyle Franklin, manager of Blue Wing LLC and retired forestry professor from North Carolina State University, said, “I secured turkey hunting rights for the spring season in the offer to purchase. I limited out the second day I hunted (one bird each day), so I knew I had found the right place. Our primary interest was turkey hunting with full expectations that deer and small game would become plentiful with good management.”
Bisected by Blue Wing Creek, a major tributary of the Hyco River, the property contains more than nine miles of stream frontage. The forested nature of the property helps protect the water quality and aquatic habitat in the watershed, affording flood control, recreational opportunities and drinking water for downstream communities.
VDOF Area Forester Andrew Brown said, “Dr. Franklin and Blue Wing LLC are ardent about protecting water quality and using good forestry practices. They have been very gracious in hosting forest landowner outreach workshops that promote these beneficial practices that demonstrate, in a practical way, the link between protecting water quality, enhancing wildlife habitat and good forestry practices.
The easement represents an extension of the landowner’s goals to manage for enhanced wildlife habitat through the coordinated improvement of soils, plant species composition, water quality and quantity. Blue Wing has steadily improved the forest conditions through a harvesting regime begun six years ago. The consequent increase in value helped fund the establishment of shortleaf and longleaf pine stands on areas that were harvested. (Both longleaf and shortleaf pine are considered diminished tree species by the VDOF).
Dr. Franklin said, “One of the benefits of the conservation easement on a property owned by a partnership is to witness that the partners are in agreement regarding the goals of and the approaches to management of the property. The idea of the easement contributing to the legacy value of the property to my heirs varies in importance among partners, but is of major importance to me personally. We selected VDOF as the easement holder because we could think of no other entity better suited to monitor a working forest easement.
“I feel especially good about the easement from the landscape perspective in that our rural land areas are becoming so fragmented with ever smaller tract sizes that it has to be a good thing to preserve and apply good management to a contiguous property of 1,000-plus acres. Somehow, it feels like it is big enough to make a real contribution to the betterment of natural resource in the community and the region.”
Mike Santucci, the VDOF forest conservation specialist who assisted Blue Wing with the easement, said, “It has been a privilege working with Doctor Franklin to protect such a large and intact area of forestland. Large tracts of unbroken family-owned forestland, especially one of this size, are becoming increasingly rare. Loss of family-owned woodland and the fragmentation of the remaining acres reduce the potential of the forest to provide the economic, social and ecological benefits on which we depend. The members of Blue Wing are definitely forward-thinking conservationists who are committed to active and sustained forest management, evidenced by their commitment to good forest management and their decision to convey the easement. We are thankful for the opportunity to help them achieve their forest conservation goals for their property.”
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a non-profit conservation organization that protects the conservation values of a property. The landowner continues to own, use and control the land. A working forest easement protects forest values and benefits by assuring sustainable forest management practices will run with the property in perpetuity, providing continuous supplies of forest products and environmental services, such as clean air and water, wildlife habitat and scenic values.
The VDOF conservation easement program is the only one in the state that focuses primarily on protecting working forests. To be considered, a property must be at least 50 acres in size; 75 percent forested, and the landowner must be willing to have a forest stewardship management plan prepared. Landowners who want to ensure that their land will be forever maintained as forest may consider a VDOF easement.
For additional information on the VDOF conservation easement program, contact Mike Santucci, forest conservation specialist, at (434) 977-5193, or visit the VDOF Web site.
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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide citizen service and public safety protection across the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.
With nearly 16 million acres of forestland and more than 144,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27.5 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.
