By Alicen Hackney
A new chapter began Sunday for the Northern Neck Land Conservancy as it unveiled a new Strategic Plan and a goal to double the number of conservation easements it stewards over the next 5 years.
With historic Roanoke Farm in Heathsville and its acres of permanently preserved farmland as a backdrop, past board members, easement donors and supporters gathered to enjoy barbecue, bushels of crabs and conversations about the organization’s new goals for preserving the rural character of the Northern Neck and Essex County for future generations.
For more than 20 years, the Northern Neck Land Conservancy has set goals that may seem lofty to some and achieved them in stride. A previous strategic plan set goals such as to use geospatial technology to analyze conservation priorities, to become a trusted partner of the US Navy and US Army on their base readiness conservation projects, and to build and sustain strong relationships with current and new conservation easement donors — all accomplished over the last 5 years.
Now the Northern Neck Land Conservancy Board of Directors and staff are looking ahead to the next 5 years and have not stopped dreaming big.
Executive Director, Lisa Biever, explained that while people who know of the organization’s work hold it in high regard, there are still many people who have not heard of it — and many more who do not know that a conservation easement is a legal instrument that landowners can use to voluntarily preserve their property. “Our greatest needs are to articulate why permanent open space land protection is important and how it can be done, and to continuously improve our education and outreach efforts.”
Biever went on to share the new plan’s 3 main goals and supporting strategies. First, Northern Neck Land Conservancy simply wants to protect more land. Among other strategies, it will be using its GIS mapping tools to identify areas with the greatest opportunities for protecting farmland, woodlands and wetlands. The organization also plans to work more closely with partners like local government and allied conservation groups to complete larger or more complex land conservation projects.
A second goal is to grow the region’s conservation community. Drew Gladwell, Stewardship Director said, “this means growing the number of people in the Northern Neck and Essex County who understand, value and are willing to take action to preserve the region’s land, waters, economies and culture.”
The third strategic goal is to increase the organization’s capacity to achieve the first two goals. This means ensuring adequate staffing, which it hopes to do through engaging and supporting volunteers, continuing to seek diverse funding sources, and telling easement donors’ stories in new ways. To that end, a fresh new website interface is planned for later this year.
The presentation culminated in one big goal for the year 2030 – double the number of conservation easements stewarded by Northern Neck Land Conservancy. The group held 50 easements at the beginning of the year, so that will be 100 easements!
“50 years from now, we want people to say, ‘Those folks on the Northern Neck and in Essex County really did a good job ensuring that it’s all still here. This place could look like any number of large coastal urban sprawl areas, and it doesn’t,’” said Biever.
One of the most fun ways to support land conservation is to participate in Northern Neck Land Conservancy’s annual Boots and Barbecue event which is being held this year in Essex County at Wheatland and Saunders Wharf on October 4. Tickets are available at the Land Conservancy’s website nnconserve.org/home/boots2025/ Sponsorships are available and come with event tickets. Contact info@nnconserve.org or 804-250-2334 to learn more.
Gladwell mentioned two additional ways to help Northern Neck Land Conservancy achieve these strategic goals and reach 100 easements. “Get a Northern Neck special license plate through DMV, or become a supporting member for as little as $35 per year. The land conservancy is a community supported nonprofit and couldn’t achieve its past or future goals without the region’s generous supporters.
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