There’s good news in store for Virginia’s protected rural, scenic and historic lands.
Two nonprofit land conservancy groups have merged to continue protecting the Virginia Peninsula’s and Middle Peninsula’s lands through conservation easements. The merger officially went into effect Oct. 31.
After a two-year process, the Middle Peninsula Land Trust merged with the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy, which has been operating in eastern Virginia since 1990 protecting the lower James, York and Rappahannock River watersheds.
The group will continue to operate under the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy name.
“The MPLT Board unanimously voted to merge with the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy knowing that the talents of HVLC would ensure that land with conservation easements are properly protected into the future,” said Neal Barber, executive director of the Middle Peninsula Land Trust, in a news release.
Thanks to the merge, the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy now protects more than 60 parcels of land throughout Tidewater Virginia, the Eastern Shore, Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.
“We are at a stunning 10,252 acres,” Historic Virginia Land Conservancy Executive Director Patrice Sadler said.
What is an easement?
A conservation easement is a private legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust, like the Historic Rivers Land Conservancy, that prevents development that would hurt the land’s natural characteristics.
Each easement is different and crafted through discussion with the landowner.
After the land easement comes to fruition, it is the land trust’s job to ensure the agreement is being followed — that means preventing some development on the land, Sadler said.
In the land trust business, properties that have easements with a land trust that is no longer active or dormant in managing the easements are called “orphaned properties,” Sadler said.
In part, the merge helped avoid orphaning protected properties on the Middle Peninsula, she added. The Middle Peninsula Land Trust was organized in 1997 and is volunteer-based.
“Altruistically, we never questioned it was the right thing to do,” Sadler said.
Details of the merge
Logistically, the merge has taken about two years to organize and prepare for, Sadler said.
As a nonprofit and accredited land trust, the merge needed to be done correctly.
Organizations accredited through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission must adhere to policies.
Sadler said former members of the Middle Peninsula Land Trust’s Board of Volunteers would be “strongly considered” for seats on the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy’s Board of Directors.
The land conservancy currently has 14 seats on the Board of Directors.
“We already do have two board members from the Middle Peninsula since, of course, this has been going on for a couple years,” Sadler said.
Sadler said it’s important to ensure the land conservancy is well-balanced and has adequate representation from all areas that it covers.
“All of these things we do impact water quality for all of us, and provide a public benefit — and a benefit for the generations to come,” Sadler said.
