BCLP presents second Barbara Hatcher award
By John Barnhart
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:37 PM EDT
Nan Carmack, BCLP's vice president, presents the second Barbara Hatcher Award to Gene and Laura Goley.
Bedford Citizens for Land Preservation (BCLP) presented its second Barbara Hatcher Award on a chilly, drizzly Thursday evening that felt more like mid-September than mid-June.
The award ceremony, and barbecue that featured local beef (from Ben and Carly Coleman), local wine (from the Peaks of Otter Winery) and local ice cream (from Homestead Creamery), was held at the Claytor Nature Study Center. Preston Bryant, the state's secretary of natural resources, was on hand to make the presentation.
"We've got local farmers putting your meal on the table tonight," announced Nan Carmack, BCLP's vice president.
Gene and Laura Goley were the recipients of this year's Hatcher award. The award noted their active participation in the community. This includes opening their farm for Jefferson Forest High School's cross country team to practice. The Goleys have also set up a conservation easement on their farm.
The farm is part of Laura Goley's homeplace. She and her sister, Anne Barrett, are daughters of the late DuVal Radford and they represent the fifth generation of Radfords to grow up on that land. Barrett also has a conservation easement on her land.
Their great, great-grandfather, William Radford, came to Bedford County from Richmond at the beginning of the 19th century. The land he purchased was part of Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest tract.
"I am thankful that the Western Virginia Land Trust and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation provided the opportunity for preserving the land our ancestors have entrusted to us," Goley said. "We intend to pass this land on to our children and many generations to follow. This easement creates the means to do so."
The Goleys live in a house named "Rothsay," a Radford family home. David and Anne Barrett live in the original Radford home.
The Goleys farm.
"All this would not have been possible without the help of my dear husband, Gene, a retired engineer who learned how to pull a calf on our first year on the farm," she said.
Boyd Claytor addresses the gathering. Claytor, the recipient of the first Barbara Hatcher award, donated the 470 acres of land to Lynchburg College that became the Claytor Nature Study Center. Earlier, he fought Appalachian Power over a proposed transmission line that would have run through the property-and won.
The Goleys preserved 350 acres of land. They've also fenced off their creeks to keep their cattle out and have developed several wildlife areas.
"It is absolutely fitting that the Goleys are recipients of the second award," commented Preston Bryant.
Bryant noted that Virginia's population has doubled since 1960. The Commonwealth loses 50,000 acres of land each year to development. However, he said that between 50,000 and 55,000 acres are conserved each year thanks to private land trusts. Last year, 95,000 acres were conserved. There are currently 30 private land trusts in Virginia.
The award is named after Barbara Hatcher, a Bedford County resident who died in 2004. Back in 2000, she preserved her 158-acre home place, Twin Oaks Farm, located at the base of the Peaks. Hatcher accomplished this through a conservation easement. She also persuaded friends and relatives to do the same and was an advocate for the Western Virginia Land Trust. The award recognizes individual efforts at land preservation and the motivation of others to take an active role in the effort.
