NELSON CO., Va, – The Virginia Department of Forestry announced Wednesday that it was celebrating the Shenandoah Borderlands Project, a partnership between the DOF, the USDA Forest Service, the Piedmont Environmental Council and private landowners to permanently protect more than 5,000 acres of forestland in Albemarle and Nelson Counties.
The DOF announced that it, along with the PEC, developed two successful grant applications to facilitate the project and were awarded with more than $8 million in funding. The awards come through the USFS Forest Legacy Program, which works to protect important forestlands from conversion and ensure a sustainable forest resource for future generations.
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As part of the Shenandoah Borderlands Project, DOF will establish conservation easements on five privately-owned properties totaling over 5,000 acres of forestland directly bordering the Shenandoah National Park. DOF, PEC and partners recently celebrated the completion of conservation easements on two of the properties and anticipate completing the project in the next few months.
- Cedar Mountain: Completed easement on 800 acres
- Royal Orchard: Completed easement on 400 acres
- BCH Lands: Easement in progress on 1,700 acres
- Middle Mountain: Easement in progress on 1,500 acres
- Sugar Hollow: Easement in progress on 800 acres
“The Shenandoah Borderlands Project takes a significant step toward protecting the scenic landscapes surrounding Shenandoah National Park, which are valuable forestlands and headwater streams,” said State Forester Terry Lasher. “It will also conserve crucial habitat for priority wildlife species such as cerulean warbler, brook trout, timber rattlesnakes and freshwater mussels, including the federally endangered James spiny mussel.”
“This partnership was worthy of federal investment from the Forest Legacy Program because it preserves landscape-scale working forestlands, drinking water resources and critical habitat connectivity with the adjacent National Park,” said Forest Legacy Program Coordinator Justin Altice. “This project creates a buffer for two nationally significant resources, Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail, shielding these scenic areas from development pressure radiating from Interstate 64, Charlottesville and Crozet. For the millions of travelers that drive through this area each year, these newly protected properties are indistinguishable from adjoining National Park land, and we’re pleased to keep them that way.”
“The Shenandoah Borderlands project helps broaden protection of a large, connected forested landscape that is part of the Appalachian Corridor, widely recognized as a global conservation priority,” said PEC Conservation Program Manager Kim Biasiolli. “The corridor provides a migratory pathway for birds and other wildlife to move across the eastern landscape, and protected, connected forestland is integral to their success. Contiguous blocks of natural forestland are essential not just for biodiversity, but also for providing flood resiliency, drinking water protection, and other public benefits, which is why the PEC has been advancing these projects as part of its larger, landscape-scale conservation initiative focused on the greater Shenandoah landscape.”