August purchase will help keep development from Peaks of Otter

Article by Tom Wilmoth
Jan 4, 2006 Bedford Bulletin

Roger Holnback, executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust, stands by a stream that passes through the 52 acre tract near Sharp Top mountain

The view of Bedford County from the Peaks of Otter will display less development than it might have because of a deal struck last summer by the Western Virginia Land Trust.

In August of last year WVLT reached an agreement to preserve a 52-acre tract just a stone's throw from Route 43 and visible from the Blue Ridge Parkway's Sharp Top overlook.
Roger Holnback, executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust, stands by a stream that passes through the 52-acre tract near Sharp Top mountain.


As part of the deal, the land will be held with the intention of reselling it to the National Park Service for addition to the BRP. In addition WVLT is attempting to purchase an adjoining tract currently owned by the city of Bedford. That land, if the purchase is approved, would be turned over immediately to the NPS.

According to Roger Holnback, WVLT executive director, the organization had been working with Preston and Mattie Edwards, owners of the 52-acre tract, for about two years to help him find a way to protect the mountainside beside his home. "The park service didn't have any money. We had looked at conservation easements (as a possibility)," he said.

The couple had purchased the land in 2001 to prevent a planned home construction that would have been perched half way up Sharp Top's slopes. A building pad and a septic field had already been installed. Preston Edwards soon contacted WVLT to explore options to permanently preserve the land.

Because Edwards was moving, he needed to sell the property. Discussions were held with The Nature Conservancy about a wetlands trust fund the organization managed for the Corps of Engineers.

By utilizing funds from TNC, the land could be held until the Park Service could find funds to purchase it. "They (NPS) had no money in the pot... This was a way for us to bridge that situation."

The Nature Conservancy provided the funds for the purchase of the land and once it's resold to the Park Service the money will go back into the trust fund. "It's a bridge loan to protect this piece of land," Holnback stated last year.

According to a press release at the time of the sale, TNC's conservation planning has identified the Peaks of Otter area as an important area for protection within the Central Appalachian Forest ecoregion. The area is rich in biological diversity, provides excellent wildlife habitat and features several rare species, most notably the Peaks of Otter salamander, the release stated.

“National Park Service land and a private conservation easement surround the Edwards tract, so preserving it will close a sizable gap in the conservation footprint on Peaks of Otter Mountain,” stated Karen Johnson, land protection specialist for The Nature Conservancy in Virginia, at the time of the sale. “This purchase also protects more than a mile of mountain streams, including Little Stony Creek.”

Without the deal, Edwards would have had to put the property on the market to the highest bidder. Though zoned agricultural, it could have been cut into several more tracts. There were already plans in place for one site for a home way up on the hill, Holnback said.

Holnback said preserving the site provides a missing piece of the external boundary around the Peaks. "It's really a win-win situation. We're not really spending the trust money, we're just using it for a period of time. All of the proceeds from the sale go back to the trust fund."

The land deal serves as mitigation for stream impacts within the Roanoke River basin, so the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund provided funding, Holnback noted at the time of the sale. The Trust Fund is a partnership between TNC and the Army Corps of Engineers, which enforces federal wetlands legislation.

The water that is in the stream on the property comes off the eastern slope of Sharp Top. "Everything coming off that hill is really pure. The water has been tested drinkable right on the site right out of the creek. There's not a lot of those left. Man has had an impact almost everywhere," Holnback said.

In the agreement with the Nature Conservancy, WVLT has been given a three-year window for the Park Service to acquire the land. At the end of that time, if the property hasn't yet been purchased by the NPS, the time could be extended. Otherwise, WVLT could place a conservation easement on the property to restrict what it could be used for by the next owner.

"We would restrict siting of any structures to really minimize the impact. But that's a last resort," he said. "We can afford to hold it for a long time. We can sit on that as long as it takes the Park Service to find the funds (to purchase)."

WVLT does have a letter of intent from the Park Service stating that it wants to purchase the property.

WVLT purchased the property for $170,000, $5,000 more than the property sold for three years ago.

There are few signs of man's presence on the property, and that's what WVLT wants to preserve. The land deal preserves the mature hardwood forest and a half-mile length of Little Stony Creek.

"We don't want to sell it to somebody because we don't want even a single house on the property. But the Park Service is traditionally slow about getting some sort of funding," he said. "This has been on the A list for acquisitions for years. It's been one (NPS) they've wanted to purchase but funding is so limited."

Edwards was glad to see the sale take place.

“The Sharp Top land is inherently beautiful, worthy of the National Park Service," he stated in August. "Protecting it helps save the view from the Peaks of Otter, protects our watershed, and saves a great area for wildlife. The Western Virginia Land Trust did a wonderful job of making this deal a reality and we're happy for the land to be permanently protected.”

Holnback stated that the deal was just as important to WVLT. "The Blue Ridge Parkway and water resources are two of the land trust's top priorities, so this deal provides a double benefit. It protects some gorgeous mountain views from the parkway and from all over Bedford County while also preserving a truly pristine trout stream.”