Virginia Senate Votes to Allow Alternate Names for Buggs Island Lake

The Virginia Senate voted yesterday, January 21, 2015 to approve Senate Bill 972, which would allow state and local agencies to refer to Buggs Island Lake as “Kerr Lake” or the “John H. Kerr Reservoir.” Previous legislation required state and local agencies to refer to the reservoir only as “Buggs Island Lake.” Senate Bill 972 now goes to the Virginia House of Delegates, which must also vote to approve the bill. Continue reading Virginia Senate Votes to Allow Alternate Names for Buggs Island Lake

Governor McAuliffe Announces Funding for Farmland Preservation Grants in Six Localities

On Monday, January 12, 2015, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that six Virginia localities had been awarded a total of more than $1,581,000 in funding to preserve working farmland through the localities’ purchase of development rights (PDR) programs. The named localities include Albemarle County, Fauquier County, James City County, Stafford County, Clarke County, and the City of Virginia Beach. PDR programs provide funding for the purchase of perpetual conservation easements from landowners, as opposed to many conservation easement programs which rely on landowners to donate easements. Continue reading Governor McAuliffe Announces Funding for Farmland Preservation Grants in Six Localities