Preserving Virginia's 'Treasures'

There’s much to love about the Old Dominion: its history, its heritage, its natural beauty. But with growth and progress, those natural treasures of the commonwealth come under increased pressure from development.

That’s why an initiative Gov. Terry McAuliffe launched last week is so important. “Virginia Treasures” is designed to protect, in perpetuity, ecologically sensitive sites, lands that harbor endangered or threatened species and locations such as boat landings and beaches.

Preservation of green spaces in the commonwealth has been a priority of governors going back to Tim Kaine in 2006. With Lynchburger Preston Bryant at his side as secretary of natural resources, Kaine made it a priority to get 400,000 acres of land under protection during his administration. When he left office, more than 424,000 acress were under preservation.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, who succeeded Kaine in 2010, announced his own goal of an additional 400,000 acres, but came up a tad short at the end of his term, with 233,693 acres on the protected list. McAuliffe has his own 400,000 acres goal, but to date, only 36,500 acres is under protection.

The problem, or more appropriately the challenge, is that many of the larger tracts have already been brought under the protective wing of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and other entities. The threatened Civil War battlefields, the wind-swept beaches of the Eastern Shore, the shores of the state’s meandering scenic rivers. What’s now at risk of being lost forever are the small sites and the micro-sites strewn across the commonwealth.

In talking with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Clyde Cristman, the director of the conservation department, had two perfect examples. One is a new preserve, announced in February, in Brunswick County. Dundas Granite Flatrock Natural Area Preserve, all of 11 acres, is home to rare flora and unusual rock formations. The other is a canoe launch site on a creek in Stafford County: “It’s bald eagle central,” Cristman said.

“We are not giving up on preserving as many acres as possible,” Cristman told the Times-Dispatch. “ ... Some of these smaller treasures can be critically important.”

Going forward, that seems to be a wise approach, as some “treasures” may be small in size but outsized in ecological or historical importance. The conservation department has a portion of its website, dcr.virginia.gov, dedicated to its land preservation efforts; check it out.

The more of these “treasures” we can preserve and protect today, the more of the true Virginia we bequeath future generations. Our heritage is their future.

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