Identifying Important Resource Lands - Cacapon and Lost Rivers, West Virginia
Located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, the Cacapon and Lost Rivers watershed encompasses a wide array of natural and recreational resources in 680 square miles of Hardy, Hampshire and Morgan Counties. Due to its close proximity to the rapidly growing Washington, DC metropolitan area, the Cacapon and Lost Rivers watershed is highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of future unplanned growth.
Goals
In the mid-1990's, the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust formed out of concern for the region's values and vulnerabilities. The Trust, with help from the Canaan Valley Institute, defined its mission as "assisting landowners and their communities in maintaining healthy rivers, protecting forest and farmland, and preserving rural heritage." Realizing the value in protecting ecologically important lands was increasingly critical, the Trust initiated the "Healing Waters Retreat" to facilitate a shift toward proactive and targeted conservation. It was named "Healing Waters" in recognition of the Native American meaning for Cacapon.
Process
The Trust, supported by the Canaan Valley Institute and funding from the Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant Program, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, began making plans for a retreat format that would help assess valuable resources and guide land protection. In the summer of 2002, the Trust assembled board members, local residents, and resource professionals for a three-day gathering to identify lands important for future preservation. Combining resource assessments with local stakeholder decisions, retreat participants identified and ranked those lands most important for protecting forests, water quality, farmland and rural heritage within the watershed.
The majority of retreat participants favored lands with a high percentage of continuous natural cover. The exercise revealed the primary conservation focus should be on forested areas, economically viable, family-owned and operated farms adjacent to one another, and floodplains, wetlands, headwater streams, and other features critical to protecting the region's clean water.
Outcome
Following the Retreat, the Natural Resource Analysis Center at West Virginia University worked with the Trust to develop a computer program to help with land protection decisions. The user-friendly system, installed on a laptop computer, allows Trust staff to make informed decisions on protection priorities throughout the watershed. The system also helps in local land management activities, including managing water resources, developing conservation plans, and preparing county comprehensive land use plans.
Prior to the Retreat, the Trust had protected just over 1,500 acres through permanent preservation agreements. During the two-year period following the Retreat, the Trust protected 6,500 additional acres, of which 4,750 acres were connected parcels in an area deemed high priority at the Retreat and now known as the Hampshire County Conservation Hub.