Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
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: | South Quay Sandhills NAP - Biodiversity, Climate Resilience & Public Access in Chowan River Basin |
|---|---|
| Category: | Natural Area Preservation |
| Grant Round: | FY25 |
| Acres: | 1,900.00 |
| Locality: | City of Suffolk |
| Management Agency: | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |
| Owner: | State |
| ConserveVirginia: | Natural Habitat & Ecosystem Diversity, Floodplains & Flooding Resilience, Protected Landscapes Resilience, Water Quality Improvement |
| Amount Awarded: | $1,300,000.00 |
| Applicant: | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage |
| Latitude: | 36.56873 |
| Longitude: | -76.838991 |
| Description: | The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Natural Heritage Division (DCR-DNH) was awarded VLCF funding to leverage fee-simple acquisition of approximately 1,900 contiguous acres in the City of Suffolk. DCR-DNH has already received $5,631,150 for this project from a National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant. The subject acreage will protect natural heritage resources within one of the world's documented biodiversity "hotspots", including over 10 miles of streams and over 200 acres of freshwater wetlands. It will create opportunities for one of the state's largest longleaf pine habitat restoration projects and meet an identified need in Virginia's Wildlife Corridor Action Plan. The project will also create opportunities for both water and hiking trail access in a socially disadvantaged and economically underserved region and provide the impetus for novel tribal engagement. Taken together, this project supports over a dozen local, regional, and interstate conservation plans and partnerships including interstate goals of watershed protection within the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed and a congressionally designated estuary of national significance. |
| Pictures: |    |
