Stafford County has added to an existing land conservation program.
The county government this week announced the addition of a 73-acre farm to its Purchase of Development Rights program that preserves open space.
The AP Legacy LLC Farm, also known as the Glebe Farm and located in the George Washington District, has been permanently protected through the county’s PDR program. The concept works like this: Landowners sell their development rights to the county, and their property is put into a conservation easement.
Additionally, the owners of Spotted Tavern Farm, current participants in the PDR program, are preserving an extra 55.53 acres.
“I am delighted the AP Legacy LLC Farm and the Harris family have opted to participate in our program to preserve this resource,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Deuntay Diggs said in the announcement. “Through PDR and other land preservation tools, Stafford continues to protect our working farms, the nature preserves providing animal and plant habitats, and the historic homes and landscapes that honor our past.”
The new properties bring the total number of acres preserved by PDR and other conservation programs and agreements to more than 12,500 acres and 3,600 retired development rights. The conservation methods include conservation easements, such as one on the Rappahannock River; PDR properties; state lands, such as Crow’s Nest and Widewater State Park; existing Stafford parkland; and Transfer of Development Rights program properties.
The AP Legacy LLC Farm is actively farmed and contains significant environmental resources, including streams and wetlands with forested buffers, critical wildlife habitats and cultural resources.
It is adjacent to two conserved farms and is designated as a Virginia Century Farm, which recognizes and honors family farms that have been operating for at least 100 consecutive years.
The property was the site of the Brunswick Parish Glebe, one of two 18th-century glebes in Stafford, owned by Parson John Waugh (1630-1706). The deed precludes any residential development on the property. The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and the Virginia Department of Forestry provided matching grant funds for the purchase.
Spotted Tavern Farm, Phase II, in the Hartwood District, will be protected through the C.N. and Lena K. Dodd Memorial Conservation Easement, which protects 55.53 acres of forest and farmland.
Seventy percent of the property is forested and includes a perennial stream and associated wetlands. The agricultural areas are used for crop production.
The farm is adjacent to two other conserved farms, and it is also a Virginia Century Farm. The property lies within an area designated by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation as ecologically significant with important wildlife habitat.
The property is also the location of the historic Spotted Tavern Farm site.
The easement precludes additional residential development on the property. The Virginia Department of Forestry provided matching grant funds for the purchase.
