Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced $15.5 million in Virginia Land Conservation Foundation funding that will help conserve more than 8,600 acres of land across Virginia.
These conservation grants will go to 28 projects across the commonwealth, including land in Prince William, Fauquier, and Stafford counties. Those projects will work to expand nature preserves and parks and protect farmland, forests, historic battlefields, and historically significant lands.
“By expanding open spaces and outdoor recreational opportunities, we’re bolstering local economic activity while providing beautiful, natural places for Virginians and visitors to recreate,” Youngkin said in a news release.
In Prince William County, the American Battlefield Trust received $1.1 million for the Hylton Tract at Bristoe Station. The money will go to the acquisition of 152.2 acres of the Bristoe Station Battlefield and a conservation easement. The property has 2,450 feet of streams, 10 acres of wetlands, two ponds, and 28 acres of farmland. It will be publicly accessible in the future.
In Fauquier County, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation received $411,000 for a 5.49-acre addition to the Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve to “protect critical habitat just below the fragile summit ecosystem.”
The full list of grant recipients is available here.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
