Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the release of a grant round, administered by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF), for projects that will conserve, protect, and benefit historically and culturally significant resources.
Eligible projects include landscape preservation along the James River watershed to benefit the Jamestown Island-Hog Island- Captain John Smith Trail Historic District (District), as well as landscape scale conservation that will preclude future river crossings in the area. Projects may also include enhancement and preservation of sites associated with the Battle of Yorktown and Fort Crafford, as well as exhibits focused on the Peninsula Campaign.
“Protecting Virginia’s natural, historic and cultural assets is the right thing to do, but it’s also a key strategy for economic growth,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These projects and the important sites they will benefit will enhance our Commonwealth’s heritage tourism industry for visitors who come to view our battlefields, historic sites, and cultural landscapes.”
“This grant round will fund projects that preserve iconic landscapes along the James River and within the Historic District,” said Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward. “Virginia’s history should be preserved and shared, and we look forward to reviewing the many great proposals that we hope will be submitted to VLCF through this process.”
“Projects funded through this grant round will significantly advance Virginia’s land conservation goals, and Governor McAuliffe’s focus on quality land conservation efforts,” said Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Director Clyde Cristman.
The grant funds are made available pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by Dominion Energy, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in order to mitigate impacts from construction of Dominion Energy’s Surry-Skiffes Creek-Whealton 500 kV Transmission Line Project. This grant round is one of five categories of projects that will be funded under the terms of the MOA. Should all $12.5 million in grant funds not be obligated in 2017, a future grant round will be held in 2018.
Grant applications will be reviewed by an interagency workgroup before being passed, with recommendations, on to the VLCF board. The grant application deadline is 4:00 pm on November 6, 2017.
For more information and to access the Program Manual and Application, please visit:www.dcr.virginia.gov/virginia-land-conservation-foundation/
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Chris Graham
