The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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Photo by George Kegley:
Dr. and Mrs. Milton Miller, daughter Ann and grandson Scott on their farm in Callaway. |
Monday, February 15, 2010
Milton Miller and his family cherish their 93-acre farm along the Blackwater River in Franklin County.
Half of the farm is forestland, where the family has seen bears, wild turkeys and three large bucks. The other half is pastureland that supports Black Angus beef cattle, pigs, lamas, chickens, a garden and a greenhouse full of tomatoes and geraniums. A spring-fed stream runs through the property for about a mile before emptying in the river.
To protect their land and water for future generations, the Millers have donated a conservation easement to the Western Virginia Land Trust (WVLT), according to David C. Perry, project manager. The easement excludes livestock from the stream and river and requires riparian buffers to be maintained to reduce pollution from runoff.
The family is also working with the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District to install stream fencing and harden the stream crossing.
"This is pretty land," said Miller, a retired Roanoke Valley doctor. "I want to keep it the way it is."
His sentiment reflects the strong conservation ethic among Franklin County landowners, Perry said. The Millers' farm was one of four easements recorded in Franklin County last year. The easements protect 417 acres of land that includes wild trout streams and habitat for the federally protected Roanoke logperch. They bring the total amount of private land protected by easements in Franklin County to more than 4,000 acres, Perry added.
The largest of the easements protects 237 acres, owned and farmed by David Robertson of Union Hall. The property is bounded on one side by nearly a mile of the Pigg River, which hosts some of the last known remaining populations of Roanoke River logperch and is part of Franklin County's blueway system for paddlers, Perry said. Riparian buffers along both the river and two tributaries on the property will help to protect the water quality. The remainder of the farm, 90 percent of which includes soils of statewide importance, will forever be available for agricultural and timber production and wildlife habitat. The easement is held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), and the landowner was assisted in the process by David Hurt of Conservation Partners, LLC.
Another easement recorded by VOF in 2009 is on a 68-acre property owned by James and Esta Wilson of Martinsville, Perry said. The property drains directly into Runnett Bag Creek, a wild trout stream, which is being protected by riparian buffers in the easement. The Wilsons have placed nearly 1,200 acres of land in Franklin County under easement since 2002.
WVLT also recorded a 19.5-acre easement on a property owned by the family of Jack Norton that completed a 6-year effort to protect Roaring Run, a native brook trout stream, Perry said. The easement protects the remaining length of Roaring Run from its headwaters to its confluence with Rennet Bag Creek. Easements on two other properties were completed in 2003 and 2006. Roaring Run is protected on its western side by the Smart View Recreation Area.
Conservation easements are voluntary agreements with landowners that permanently protect the land's natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreational values from development while keeping the property in private ownership, Perry said. State tax incentives have increased the benefits of gifts of easement, especially for landowners of modest means. Virginia's Land Preservation Tax Credit for a conservation easement is 40 percent of the appraised value of the easement.
To learn more about conservation easements and associated tax benefits, visit www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org or contact Josh Gibson at (540) 951-0449 or jgibson@vofonline.org; Roger Holnback at (540) 985-0000 or rholnback@westernvirginialandtrust.org; or David Hurt at (540) 598-9645 or dhurt@conservationpartnersllc.com. |
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