Protecting Farmland Yields Big Benefits

Woodstock, VA, July 20, 2006–A historic farm in Shenandoah County, Virginia, will be preserved for future generations thanks to a partnership effort between the federal government and the Potomac Conservancy.  The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing $187,000 in matching funds under the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) to purchase a conservation easement on 106 acres of land.  The FRPP easement ensures that the land will remain in agriculture forever.

Mount Pleasant Farm is close to two major Interstates, I-81 and I-66, and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, making it a prime target for development.  Just north of the farm, properties have already been zoned for commercial use.  To the west, a sizable residential development has been built.  Adjacent to the property, just across Cedar Creek, is the nation’s newest National Park, Cedar Creek-Belle Grove National Historical Park. 

Caroline Stalnaker has owned the land for more than 20 years.  The farm produces hay, replacement heifers, and sheep for both wool and meat.  Stalnaker is committed to conserving natural resources on her property.  She has planted a buffer of trees along one of the creeks to improve water quality with funds from USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).  She has also fenced livestock out of the stream and installed alternative watering sources.  A Forest Stewardship Plan developed by the Virginia Department of Forestry will be used to manage the woodland for wildlife and forest health over the next ten years.

NRCS State Conservationist M. Denise Doetzer said, “This easement will provide many benefits over the long term. The landowner can continue to farm without pressure from urban sprawl.  The community benefits from having open space, historic land preserved, and cleaner water in the Cedar Creek watershed and the Chesapeake Bay.”

This easement was the Potomac Conservancy’s highest land conservation priority for 2005.   “Permanent protection of this property will help keep Cedar Creek healthy into the future which is critically important as it is a major tributary of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River from which the City of Winchester and other local communities take their drinking water,” said Heather Richards, Director of Headwaters Conservation for Potomac Conservancy.

The land also has historic significance.  It was involved in the Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War.  Mount Pleasant farm is along a corridor of properties targeted for protection by the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

FRPP helps communities and groups that are trying to stem the loss of farmland by paying up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement.  This program allows NRCS to enter into agreements with states, tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations.  For more information on FRPP in Virginia, email barry.harris@va.usda.gov or visit www.va.nrcs.usda.gov/programs or contact your your local USDA Service Center.

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