The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth." As of 2017, it owns 3,366 acres (13.62 km) of public land and holds and manages conservation easements on approximately 801,077 acres (1,251.68 sq mi; 3,241.84 km) of private land.
8-585: Members of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation's Board of Trustees are appointed by the Virginia governor for four-year staggered terms. The sitting governor appoints a chairman from among the seven trustees. Among the properties that the Virginia Outdoors Foundation currently protects through conservation easements are Carvins Cove Natural Reserve and Mill Mountain owned by the City of Roanoke, Wildwood Park in
16-689: A conservation easement donated to the Western Virginia Land Trust and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation . The easement protects much of the Cove from inappropriate development and is the largest ever recorded in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Recreational activities, such as mountain biking , hiking , and equestrian activities, are allowed around the reservoir. Several mountain bike races are held at Carvins Cove each year, including
24-650: Is a 12,700-acre (51 km ) city park in Botetourt and Roanoke counties, Virginia . Managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority and the City of Roanoke , it is the fifth-largest city park in the United States, and the second-largest city park managed by a municipality. Within the park's boundary is Carvins Cove Reservoir and also the main ridgeline of Brushy Mountain , which rises about 1200 feet above
32-403: The "XXC" endurance race which covers 43 miles of trails and involves climbs totalling over 6000 feet. Some downhill trails are considered expert-level only, and involve overall descents of over 1000 feet. Boating and fishing are allowed on the reservoir itself, but there are strict limits to preserve water quality. The fear of zebra mussels motivated the city to apply the first restrictions in
40-632: The 4,996-acre (20.22 km) Smith Mountain Cooperative Wildlife Management Area , established via easement on land owned by Appalachian Power along Smith Mountain Lake . As of 2008, twenty percent of the land in Clarke County, Virginia was covered by conservation easements. This Virginia -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Carvins Cove Natural Reserve Carvins Cove Natural Reserve
48-709: The City of Radford, Shirley Plantation in Charles City County, James Madison's Montpelier in Orange County, the Hermitage Museum and Gardens in the City of Norfolk, and more than 4,000 acres (16 km) of land along the Rappahannock River owned by the City of Fredericksburg. In cooperation with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation also helps manage
56-467: The City of Roanoke and Roanoke County to create the Western Virginia Water Authority, which consolidated their water delivery systems. The 630-acre (2.5 km ) reservoir and the land below the 1,200-foot (370 m) contour are owned by the Authority; the land above the contour is owned by the City of Roanoke. In April 2008, Roanoke City Council placed 6,185 acres (25.03 km ) of Carvins Cove under
64-476: The lake's waterline. In the 1930s, Carvins Creek was dammed to create the Carvins Cove Reservoir , which for many decades served as the primary water source for the City of Roanoke. A small rural community (called Carvins Cove ) was displaced by the reservoir's creation, and some of its roads and housing foundations still become visible during droughts . A series of droughts in the late 1990s spurred
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