1.5-mile stretch of Chickahominy River protected by new conservation easement

The Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District have recorded a conservation easement on 1.5 miles of frontage along the Chickahominy River and 170 acres of forests and wetlands in Henrico County. Located below the falls of the river and east of Interstate 95, this conservation easement will permanently protect 124 acres of freshwater wetlands and two streams – swampy areas that offer habitat for frogs, salamanders, turtles, water-loving birds, and numerous plant species. Officials from the organizations also consider it a needed refuge from nearby development at Virginia Center Commons shopping mall that is being revitalized as a mixed-use area.

The river meanders from the Goochland County line near Wyndham in Henrico’s Far West End until it empties into the James River to the east. It creates a natural and legal border between Hanover and Henrico counties, becoming the Charles City County and New Kent County boundary for another 40 miles as it flows through forests, wetlands, and swamps and expands across a broad floodplain that is as much as a mile across in some areas.

Substantial portions of the newly preserved property are ranked C3 for “high ecological core” by the Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment analysis. This Ecological Integrity score rates the relative contribution of the area to ecosystem services including wildlife and plant habitat, biodiversity conservation, water resources protection, sediment retention, and protection from storm and flood damage. Such ecological core ranking considers size and connections to important lands that form natural land networks like the Chickahominy River.

While most of the property is within the Chesapeake Bay Resource Area as mapped in Henrico County’s local comprehensive plan, the conservation easement preserves the area as a “no-harvest” zone that restricts commercial timbering of the property. Along with a 100-foot forested riparian buffer along the Chickahominy River, such protections work to slow down and absorb stormwater runoff, reducing stream bank erosion, and serving as a natural filter to reduce pollutants, according to officials. Trees also shade the waters, cooling temperatures for fish and aquatic life.

“The Chickahominy River is an essential resource for a healthy environment and is vital to the life of plants and animals” said CRLC Executive Director Parker C. Agelasto. “It’s been providing for the local community since prehistoric times and will continue to do so thanks to projects like this that help its resiliency.”

“The Chickahominy Crossing easement is another example of private citizens of Henrico County doing their part to protect our quality of life,” said Nicole Anderson Ellis, an elected director on the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District Board and chair of their Land Preservation Committee.  “Travelers along this stretch of I-95 may not realize the forest they see is protected, but through the vision and hard work of everyone involved in this easement, Henrico’s waters will stay cleaner, our summers will stay that much cooler, and our wild neighbors will retain a place to raise their families too.”

“Most of the land in the surrounding area has already been developed. We wanted this tract of land to stay just the way it is so that it can be enjoyed by future generations the same way we enjoy it today” said co-owner Randy Cosby.

“Henrico County has been blessed with an abundance of waterways, including the Chickahominy, and is committed to conserving these vital natural resources,” said Henrico County Board of Supervisors Chairman and Fairfield District Supervisor Frank J. Thornton. “The county applauds the altruism and forward thinking of Mr. Cosby for preserving this property in its natural state, and thanks the Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District for their efforts with the conservation easement. This generous act emphasizes the imperative need for many hands to be involved in the stewardship of our environment — the nonprofit sector, government, private businesses and private individuals. It will take the combined efforts and shared responsibility of all of us to ensure that we can pass on a livable Henrico community to the generations that will follow us.”

A collective 800 acres in Henrico County along the river are set aside for parks and open space – including Glover Park, Glen Lea Park, and Meadoview Park – as well as another 1,200 acres of private land protected by conservation easments held by Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, HSWCD and CRLC. This protection is important to the water quality of a 1,230-acre reservoir, known as Chickahominy Lake, located further downstream that supplies drinking water to the City of Newport News, officials said.

The conservation easement also protects historic resources. As with many tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, the Chickahominy River was a key corridor for prehistoric people to hunt, gather, and ultimately cultivate crops within its floodplain. The name Chickahominy means “People of the Coarse Pounded Corn” and the river was thus named for the area which they had settled prior to the English colonization in 1607.

CRLC is a partner of the Lower Chickahominy Watershed Collaborative that is coordinating work to conserve natural resources in Charles City, New Kent, and James City Counties with federal and state agencies, tribal governments, and non-profit organizations.