Congratulations to Matt Lohr!  Secretary Perdue Names NRCS Chief WASHINGTON, December 3, 2018 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today the appointment of Matthew J. “Matt” Lohr to serve as Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In his role, Lohr will provide leadership for NRCS and its […]

MURPHY: GOVERNOR NORTHAM’S PLEDGE TO PROTECT By W. TAYLOE MURPHY JR., Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 24, 2018 This April, Gov. Ralph Northam made a bold commitment to triple the amount of money the state spends on natural resources — an ambitious and laudable goal that I pursued throughout my career in the General […]

Daily Press Editorial:  Creating a stronger community Daily Press Editorial Board, 8-28-18 The country’s first African-American family gets a grant to protect its heritage. Tucked into a thicket next to a suburban street that arrived well after the headstones were placed, the Tucker Family Cemetery is finally getting the recognition and protection it deserves. The […]

DHR Announces $1.1 Million in 2018 Va. Battlefield Preservation Grants American Battlefield Trust & Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation Announcement Yorktown’s Battlefield Bluffs site RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Historic Resources today announced over 562 acres of battlefield will be placed under protection through grants from this year’s Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund. The awards totaling […]

Update from Chesapeake Conservation Partners The Network for Landscape Conservation just issued a new report — Pathways Forward: Progress and Priorities in Landscape Conservation. It’s well worth reading. Here in the Chesapeake watershed, we have working at landscape scales for years — the Chesapeake Bay Program on water quality and other values; the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership on land […]

Tee Clarkson’s outdoor column in the Richmond Times Dispatch, appeared September 2, 2018. When I am feeling nostalgic, I’ll jump on my bike and ride backward through my life. It’s just a few miles to the house where my parents brought me home from St. Mary’s Hospital 45 years ago, my mother cradling me in […]

Gov. Ralph Northam joined about 50 others at the cemetery in Hampton’s Aberdeen Gardens neighborhood to sign a ceremonial easement for the centuries-old cemetery where relatives of William Tucker are buried. William Tucker is thought to be the first person of African descent born in North America. The William Tucker 1624 Society, which is overseen […]

Thanks to VCN for organizing a James River National Wildlife Refuge event with Congressman McEachin.  The outing highlighted an on the ground project funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund which is set to expire September 30, 2018. This June 16, 2018 Richmond Times Dispatch article by Tee Clarkson describes the event and outlines […]

Hold the date for VaULT’s Business & Contemporary Topics meeting on Thursday September 13th, 2018.  We will be meeting in the Piedmont and hope to be outside for part of the meeting. Send agenda suggestions to Peggy Stevens (mahstevens@cox.net) or Ellen Shepard (eshepard@vaunitedlandtrusts.org).

Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Cooperative Extension are hosting a number of 1/2 day and 2 day Generation NEXT workshops in the upcoming months.  These workshops are focused on intergenerational land transfer and are designed to educate landowners on their options for keeping land intact, in forest, and in the family. Speakers include legal […]