VLCF Funded Projects

Virginia’s working farms and forests, battlefields and other historic sites, natural areas, parks and rivers are critical to its economy, culture and quality of life. In 1999, the assembly and governor established the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) to fund protection of these resources. The interactive map below depicts VLCF-grant projects funded since 2000.

Name:	Ridley Farm
Category:	Forestland Preservation
Grant Round:	FY16
Acres:	567
Locality:	Southampton County
Management Agency:	Virginia Department of Forestry
Owner:	Private
ConserveVirginia:	None
Amount Awarded:	$250,000.00
Applicant:	Virginia Department of Forestry
Latitude:	36.68480988
Longitude:	-77.06955
Description:	The Virginia Department of Forestry funded partial purchase of a conservation easement with a grant award of $250,000 to protect 567 acres in Southampton County containing 185 acres of swamp/bottomland hardwoods that includes old-growth Tupelo/Bald Cypress swamp with nearly 20,000 feet of frontage on the Nottoway River. The property is also a working farm, with 130 acres of largely prime farmland currently under intensive agricultural use. The swamp and bottomland hardwoods, which lie within the larger DCR Natural Heritage-designated Cypress Swamps Conservation Site, are now protected from timber harvesting and will serve as an effective buffer to the Cypress Bridge Natural Area Preserve that is directly across the Nottoway River. The easement also limits development on the upland portion of the property and will help preserve the viewshed of a state Scenic River.