Henrico, VA – A feature of the HenricoNEXT 2045 draft comprehensive plan is the Prime Agriculture/ Rural Conservation designation to limit development in an effort to preserve natural, agricultural and scenic areas, primarily in the Varina District. For the past 20 years Capital Region Land Conservancy has been supporting this effort through the use of conservation easements and has protected over 2,400 acres in eastern Henrico County.

Between 1982 and 2022, however, Henrico County lost more than 25,000 acres of farmland according to the United States Census of Agriculture. Today there are just 7,927 acres of active farmland at 84 registered farms. Most of the County is designated as Census Urban Areas with only a few exclusions located east of Interstate 295 along the James River at places such as Varina Farms, Curles Neck, and Malvern Hill.

In 2024 as part of his steadfast commitment to conserve land in Varina, Randy Welch generously donated 61 acres to CRLC located at New Market Road and Doran Road. This property is one of the only places where the Virginia Capital Trail takes users off Route 5 and through agricultural fields as a means of connecting them to and encouraging appreciation of the more rural landscape. The property also contains more than 54 acres of prime farmland with active farming operations on approximately 20 acres.

“Varina is wealthy in its beauty and incredible natural resources. I am honored to be in a position to help preserve such places for the community and more particularly for visitors to capital bike trail and the natural features of the property,” said Randy Welch.

“As someone with deep roots in Varina, I have witnessed the changes taking place in our community. As its elected Board of Supervisor for the past 14 years, I have also heard from many constituents about the importance of preserving farmland here,” said Rev. Tyrone Nelson, Varina District Supervisor. “I applaud Mr. Welch and CRLC for being partners with the County as we develop solutions that balance development and conservation where it matters.”

With a $400,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation Preservation Trust Fund, and additional funding from the Conserve the Future Fund at the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, CRLC has completed the transfer of this property to the Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust (CVACLT) subject to a conservation and open-space easement granted to CRLC and the Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District (HSWCD).

Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust is a BIPOC-led non-profit organization that supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) control of land for building resilient regional food systems. This gift will enable CVACLT to further its mission by owning and making available land for future farmers to grow experience and engage the immediate community, Hispanic. With the Varina Elementary School, Dorey Park Farmers Market, and hundreds of homes less than a mile away, the farm will support healthy food and local produce for many in the neighborhood, which is majority Black.

“The biggest risk to farming is development pressure and rising land values. The biggest impediment to farmers is having land tenure and ownership of the property where we work and invest to improve soil health and provide needed food for the community,” said Duron Chavis, Board Chair of the Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust. “CVACLT was founded to help address both of these challenges and we appreciate the partnership that CRLC has afforded us to secure these 60 plus acres.”

“Not only is this project the ninth co-held conservation easement for Henricopolis, it represents an opportunity to expand partnerships as we seek to equip citizens with the knowledge, guidance, and support needed to sustainably steward our shared natural resources – moving us closer to a future of clean waters and productive soils,” said Becky Lakin, Chair of the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District.

The conservation easement on the property, co-held by CRLC and HSWCD, protects the historic resources as well as viewsheds to and from Route 5 and the Virginia Capital Trail into the property. It also prioritizes preservation of prime farmland by avoiding such in siting of future buildings. A 100-foot forested riparian buffer also prohibits the commercial harvest of trees in order to protect water quality along an unnamed tributary to Four Mile Creek.

The property has statewide significance for land conservation as portions of it overlap with ConserveVirginia 3.0 in five of the seven categories: Agriculture and Forestry, Cultural and Historic Preservation, Natural Habitat and Ecosystem Diversity, Scenic Preservation, and Water Quality Improvement.

It is also nationally significant as all or portions of the property are documented by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission to be in core battlefield or study areas of seven different battles fought during the American Civil War. Most notably, it is entirely within the core of Darbytown and New Market Road Battlefield and partly in the core of Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights Battlefield.

After the victory that was led by United States Colored Troops (USCT) at New Market Heights, the Union army established earthen fortifications, from Fort Harrison to north of Route 5 and where Doran Road is today, just 7 miles from the State Capitol Building. About half of the property is located behind these defenses, with evidence of these earthworks present today, and was the focus of Confederate forces to repulse the Union army away from Richmond during three different battles fought in October 1864 and involved USCT. Ultimately it was these USCT members of the XXV Corps that entered Richmond on April 3, 1865.

“Henrico County is blessed to have productive farmland and also immense history where most of our models for prioritizing land conservation direct us to the Varina District,” said Parker C. Agelasto, Executive Director of the Capital Region Land Conservancy. “It’s no surprise that this has been a focus of CRLC’s or the residents of this area who want to see it preserved. There are few properties that overlap with five of seven categories within ConserveVirginia or seven Civil War battlefields for that matter.”

“The Virginia Outdoors Foundation recognized the high conservation values and community benefit that this project will provide and is privileged to offer a grant from the Preservation Trust Fund to support the collaborative work and future vision for this property,” said Brett Glymph, Executive Director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

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About Capital Region Land Conservancy (CRLC): Capital Region Land Conservancy is dedicated to conserving the natural and historic resources of Virginia’s Richmond region for the benefit of people and nature. The nonprofit land trust serves the City of Richmond and 19 surrounding counties. Since 2005, CRLC has helped protect more than 16,000 acres, including easements on more than 6,000 acres. www.capitalregionland.org

About Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust (CVACLT): The Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust is a BIPOC-led nonprofit organization that supports BIPOC control of land for building resilient regional food systems. CACLT works to eliminate development pressure as a barrier to farming and to provide land tenure and ownership opportunities to farmers of color throughout the Central Virginia region. www.cvaac.org

About Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District (HSWCD): One of 47 Soil & Water Districts across Virginia – HSWCD uses education, cost-sharing, and other tools to encourage best conservation practices by farmers, homeowners, businesses and more.  While the Henricopolis District shares boundaries with the county of Henrico, it is an autonomous government body guided by a board of five voting members, including three elected directors representing the citizens of the district. www.hswcd.org

Contacts:

Parker C. Agelasto, Executive Director
Capital Region Land Conservancy  
202-302-0153
parker@capitalregionland.org

Duron Chavis, Board Chair
Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust
contact@cvaac.org   

Becky Lakin, Board Chair
Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District
blakin@hswcd.org