The Virginia Outdoors Foundation has asked Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline developers to present applications for conversion of open space land under the Open Space Land Act at its February 9, 2017 board meeting if the current alignments and project schedules remain unchanged. Upon consideration, it was decided that the February meeting is the…
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation recently learned that the historic Elk Hill property in Nelson County, which is protected by a VOF easement, has been added to the formal scoping process for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) being conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In response, VOF issued a letter to FERC stating that…
Two natural gas pipeline projects that had been planning to present applications for conversion of VOF-protected open space at the upcoming September 29 VOF board meeting have deferred those applications until a later date, to be determined. The applications by Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which were first shared with VOF’s Energy and…
Note: Please read an update to this story here. Two natural gas pipeline projects in Virginia — Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) — are planning to present applications for conversion of protected open space on 11 Virginia Outdoors Foundation easements at VOF’s board meeting on September 29. The companies behind the…
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation was named a Gold Medal recipient during the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award ceremony on April 7 at the 27th Environment Virginia Symposium in Lexington, Va. The awards recognize significant contributions of environmental and conservation leaders in four categories: sustainability, environmental project, land conservation, and implementation of the Virginia Outdoors Plan. VOF…
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation recently learned of proposed changes to the route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) that indicate new possible intersections with VOF easements in the Shenandoah Valley. VOF staff has scheduled meetings with ACP staff to determine the specifics of the proposed changes. VOF’s focus is on making certain that the pipeline…
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation permanently protected 21,800 acres of farmland, forests, and other open space through 100 conservation easements in 2015. VOF now protects just under 780,000 acres across the Commonwealth. VOF protected new acreage in 49 different localities. Lunenburg County saw the most land protected with 1,844 acres. For the third consecutive year Southside…
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2016, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation will be featuring a different conservation success story from its past every week on its website at vof.org/50stories. The “50 Years, 50 Stories” project combines photos, stories and maps to take visitors on a virtual tour of some of VOF’s most significant projects…
At its September 24 meeting, the VOF board of trustees voted on several policy matters affecting landowners who want to donate open-space easements in 2016. One such matter was the adoption of interim easement guidelines as VOF considers and accepts public comments for a more thorough update of its guidelines in 2016. The last update of…
To sustain the programs necessary to achieving Virginia’s land conservation goals, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted June 25, 2015 to approve a fee schedule that includes several new fees, adjustments to existing fees, and stewardship endowments for purchased conservation easements. A breakdown of the fees can be found here. Most take effect…