*See Resolution below. R-18-XX RESOLUTION BY THE VIRGINIA OUTDOORS FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO AUTHORIZE SALE OF CERTAIN PARCEL OF LAND

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1 OWNED LANDS ACTIVITIES REPORT MAY 3, 2018 Board of Trustees Meeting SALE PARCELS: White House Creek lot Lancaster County Short history of the White House Creek Estate lot in Lancaster County. In late 2008 a lot was donated in White House Creek Estates, a small subdivision on Millenbeck Prong off Corrotoman River. The lot was donated with the intent that VOF would sell it and use any proceeds in furtherance of VOF s mission In 2011 the lot was appraised by Staff notified all neighbors of the intent to sell and received no indication of interest. The property was listed for sale in the dream price of $65, the price was reduced to $40,000 and there was little interest. In June of 2017 the realtor did a new market analysis and the list price was reduced to $10,500. In March 2018 the first bona fide offer to date was received ($8,500). VOF has a contract for purchase dated March 27 with a proposed settlement date of May 11. There are no contingencies on buyer side. VOF signed contract contingent on board approval. *See Resolution below. R-18-XX RESOLUTION BY THE VIRGINIA OUTDOORS FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO AUTHORIZE SALE OF CERTAIN PARCEL OF LAND WHEREAS, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) owns certain parcels of land that were donated with the clear intention, or ability, for the parcels to be sold and proceeds to benefit further conservation work; and WHEREAS, the one lot in White House Creek Estates, Lancaster County (Coll/Ingram Gift), has been listed for sale since 2015; and WHEREAS, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation passed a resolution in 2011 authorizing the sale of this parcel with proceeds to be used at it s Kohl s Island property, a parcel of high conservation value that has management needs that could be funded by proceeds from the sale; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has adopted procedures regarding the sale of land both with respect to appraisals and to sale methods; WHEREAS, in 2014 the Board of Trustees authorized staff to proceed with sale of any sale parcels that met the following two conditions. 1.) the offer being at least 90% of list price and 2.) the appraised value of parcel does not exceed $50,000; and WHEREAS, staff recommends that VOF accept the contract dated March 27, 2018 for the White Creek Estates lot; and now, therefore, be it VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 1 of 9

2 RESOLVED by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation Board of Trustees this 3rd day of May 2018, That staff be authorized to sell the White House Creek Estates lot and accept offer and terms contained in contract offer. ADOPTED by a vote of in favor and against ATTEST: Brett Christina Glymph, Executive Director Schilling donation Nelson County Two lots in Nelson County, south of Lovingston, on Lake Nelson were offered as a donation and approved by the VOF Board in October The transaction was closed December The lots were donated with the intent that VOF will sell them and use any proceeds in furtherance of VOF s mission. Staff is in the process of establishing an asking price and listing these lots for sale. The lots are assessed by the county at $10,000 each however market prices and sales do not support that value. Ski Lodge Lane Parcels - Rappahannock County August 2017 VOF received fee simple title to 61.7 acres by gift from Judith Karen Jones, Trustee of the Judith Karen Jones Trust. The property is located 4 miles west of the town of Washington in Harris Hollow. It is forested land on the upper slope of Jenkins Mountain in a small subdivision of 25+ acre lots. The Shenandoah National Park lower trailhead for Big Devils Stairs is ½ mile away. The land is valued for title insurance purposes at $372,000. VOF staff will make a recommendation to the Board regarding protection and disposition of this property once we are closer to one-year gift anniversary and analyze the site. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 2 of 9

3 BULL RUN MOUNTAINS NATURAL AREA PRESERVE 2,350 acres in Prince William and Fauquier Counties Visitation of Southern-Section For the first time in BRMNAP history, complete visitation data was collected by way of observational data gathering efforts and the implementation of a trail counter unit. We are excited to announce that in 2017 the preserve saw 8,584 people utilize our trail system (See Table 1). DAY OF WEEK: FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY TOTAL TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITORS Table 1: BRMNAP visitor tally for 2017 season. The data collection methodology was refined enough to categorize usage into hourly units. Car abundance was also tracked (see Table 2) and reveals a visitor to car ratio of roughly 2:1. This large data set will enable us to make more informed management decisions and better serve our patrons. DAY OF WEEK: FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY TOTAL TOTAL NUMBER OF VEHICLES Table 2: BRMNAP vehicle tally for 2017 season. Infrastructure and Security at Southern-Section In a collaborative effort this winter, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) and the Turn the Mill Around Campaign, invested in new fencing and security measures for our properties. The six-foot tall metal fencing runs parallel to the train tracks and provides much needed reenforcement to both BRMNAP and Chapman Mill site security (See Figure 1). Also, with the new director, Maggie Lovitt, further cooperative efforts between the Turn the Mill Around Campaign and VOF are already underway for the coming year. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 3 of 9

4 Figure 1: The newly installed fencing at BRMNAP. It stretches from the BRMNAP trailhead entry way down to the Chapman s Mill Site. Hiring at Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve (BRMNAP) BRMNAP hired a full-time Preserve Technician, Char Rese Finney (See Figure 2 & Figure 3). Char Rese is a graduate of Environmental Studies from the Virginia Commonwealth University. She has substantial trail stewardship experience and is an enthusiastic student of entomology. The preserve also welcomed aboard two part-time seasonal Preserve Interpreters, Abigail Haverty and Tess Hill. The Preserve Interpreters serve to maximize public engagement and naturalist outreach activities at BRMNAP. Figure 2: Char Rese Finney photographed at the White Cliffs during a BRMNAP Highpoint monitoring event. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report Figure 3: Char Rese highlighting amphibian diversity to VOF volunteers. 4 of 9

5 Volunteer Trail Work Janis Stone has continued to lead a dedicated group of Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) members at BMRNAP. Their passion for our trail system has helped keep our ~6 miles of trails open despite last year s small (EF-0) tornado 1.2 mile path of destruction last August and a large windstorm this winter. A local Haymarket church group, led by the Luetkenhaus and Maynard families, came out this past Saturday, April 14 th (See Figure 4). They volunteered their Saturday to put in new channels aimed at mitigating water and preventing trail erosion (See Figure 5). This came just in time to prevent degradation from heavy rains on night of April 15. Figure 4: VOF Preserve Technician, Char Rese Finney, and PATC District Manager, Janis Stone with a dedicated group of BRMNAP trail volunteers. Figure 5: Volunteers creating water mitigation channels along BRMNAP s Green Trail and the Mountain Access Rd. Trout Re-introduction at BRMNAP s Jackson Hollow In the fall of 2015, VOF was contacted by Dr. Kirk Smith about investigating the streams of BRMNAP for suitability for reintroduction of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis See Figure 6). After a review of several potential reintroduction streams, only the headwaters of Catharpin Creek in Jackson Hollow, have been selected as a prime candidate to focus their efforts on by Dr. Smith and his students. In Spring of 2017, a small pioneer population of 50 brook trout fry were released within the Catharpin at Jackson Hollow to better assess the reality of this project. We are excited to report that during a Fall stream site-assessment led by VOF and Dr. Kirk Smith (and attended by Department of Game and Inland Fisheries [DGIF], Trout Unlimited and members of area public schools) a single summer surviving trout was spotted upstream from the release site population. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 5 of 9

6 As a kick-off to the 2018 spring season, seventy brook trout have been released into BRMNAP s ecological research station, Jackson Hollow (See Figure 7). This release of trout involved volunteers from local public schools who raised the trout and was led by BRMNAP Preserve Manager, Joe Villari (Figure 8). A series of releases are being scheduled for this spring and one will be attended by Virginia s First Lady, Pam Northam. Figure 6: Some of the 70 brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) released into Catharpin Creek at BRMNAP s Jackson Hollow Research Station. Figure 7: Volunteers enthusiastically release brook trout within Catharpin Creek at BRMNAP s Jackson Hollow research station. Figure 8: Preserve Manager, Joe Villari, leading the release of brook trout fry at BRMNAP s Jackson Hollow research station. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 6 of 9

7 Structural Renovations at Jackson Hollow The house at Jackson Hollow, which has been vacant for two years, has undergone renovations and is now rented by BRMNAP employee, Char Rese Finney. The plumbing system was updated, new appliances have been installed and the kitchen cabinets (See Figure 10) were donated by local artisanal craftsman and BRMNAP volunteer, Redmond Manierre. Figure 9: Before photo of the old cabinets at the Jackson Hollow residential structure. Figure 10: After photo of the custom cabinet work at Jackson Hollow residential structure by local craftsman, Redmond In addition to Mr. Manierre s woodworking, a significant amount of work was completed by the Stewardship Committee, a group of 30 volunteers who have supported the preserve for nearly 25 years. They provided vital infrastructure improvements and maintenance to the exterior of the Jackson Hollow residence (See Figure 11). VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 7 of 9

8 Figure 11: The Stewardship Committee performing outer renovations to the Jackson Hollow Updates on Cooperative Projects with DCR - Division of Natural Heritage VA-DCR s Vegetation Ecologist, Gary Fleming, and VOF s Preserve Manager, Joe Villari, are working with big tree hunter, Byron Carmean to hunt for a potential state champion poison sumac tree (Toxicodendron vernix) at Jackson Hollow. Gary Fleming has identified a site that was undisturbed by past beaver populations and may still hold some very large specimens. Also underway is the co-authored revision of the 2004 BRMNAP Management Plan. VOF Preserve manager, Joe Villari is working closely with the Manager of DCR Natural Heritage s Crow s Nest Preserve, Mike Lott to rewrite this technical report. This is the first time that a VOF employee will have co-authored their own management plan for the preserve. VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 8 of 9

9 HOUSE MOUNTAIN RESERVE 876 acres in Rockbridge County Parking Spot Staff is working with Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and County officials regarding the creation of a parking area to serve House Mt. on the 3.56-acre tract along Saddle Ridge Road that VOF acquired in April 2016 for this purpose. VDOT has issued an entrance permit for the project and Rockbridge County Office of Community Development reviewed the project and determined that no Erosion and Sediment control permit is required. A site visit on March 23 also included Col. Dale Brown, VMI s Institute Planning Officer, who provided additional input regarding the parking area design. The parking area is planned to accommodate up to 10 cars, which is the normal volume on a nice weekend day. Quotes received thus far from local contractors indicate that the work can be done for less than $5,000. Figure 12: Visitors to House Mt. now park along State Route 643 (Saddle Ridge Road) creating unsafe conditions and a nuisance to neighbors. RACC v. VOF Judge David B. Carson, Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia, issued an opinion letter on February 23 and a final order in the case of RACC v. VOF on March 16, The order found in favor of VOF and determined that the 1989 agreement expired by its terms. Jared Jenkins, attorney for RACC, filed notice of appeal to the Supreme Court on April 9, VOF BOT Owned Lands Report 9 of 9