Blackwater Ecological Preserve, Isle of Wright County. Photo by Gary Fleming.
Virginia
Natural Heritage Program
Website:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/index.shtml
State Government Affiliation:
a Division of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Naural Areas:
50 sites totaling over 42,250 acres in the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System
Funding:
State General Funds, 2002 State Parks and Natural Areas Bond, Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, federal grants, donations
Land Acquisition:
Conservation sites targeted for addition to the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System are selected by a team within the Natural Heritage Program and approved by the Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (VDCR). Potential acquisition sites are scored on attributes such as biodiversity significance, size and condition of the property, the number and quality of natural heritage resource occurrences, and anticipated stewardship needs such as prescribed burning and invasive species control. Both fee-simple acquisition and natural area preserve dedication easements are used to protected conservation sites. Of the current 49 dedicated natural area preserves, 35 are owned by VDCR and 14 have been protected through easements.
Protection:
Lands dedicated to the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System must qualify under the provisions of the Virginia Natural Area Preserves Act (Acts 1989, c. 553; § 10.1-209 et seq., Code of Virginia, 1950 as amended) and are protected in perpetuity by a deed of natural area dedication. Dedicated preserves may be owned by VDCR or may be public or privately owned properties protected though a deed of dedication. Lands may be placed into the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System only by approval of the VDCR Director.
Stewardship:
VDCR’s natural areas management staff include five full-time Regional Natural Areas Stewards, three Operations Stewards (sworn Conservation Officers), one Stewardship Ecologist, two Stewardship Biologists, and one Stewardship Program Manager. All stewardship staff are within the Virginia Natural Heritage Program and work in concert with other Heritage staff to conduct day to day management actions on the preserves. Management plans are prepared for individual preserves that guide actions including prescribed burning, invasive species control, habitat restoration, research and monitoring, public access facilities maintenance, visitor use and safety, public hunting, and various other operations issues.
Current Events:
VDCR’s Natural Heritage Program is currently partnering with a broad cross-section of natural resource agencies and organizations on multiple initiatives to protect and manage natural areas in Virginia. A new MOU with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and VDCR-NHP is focused on protecting and managing land on the Southern Tip of the Virginia Eastern Shore – one of the hemisphere’s most significant migratory bird corridors and stopover habitats. VDCR-NHP is teaming with International Paper, the Virginia Department of Forestry, USFWS, and TNC to begin restoring longleaf pine forests at a significant scale in southeast Virginia. VDCR-NHP is also working closely with both the National Park Service and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System in Virginia to develop site management plans that balance the need to protect and maintain habitats for sensitive resources with various other public use demands.