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Money will protect battlefields, extend river trail system
By Michael Buettner (Staff Writer)
Published: June 23, 2010
The Tri-City area is among the biggest beneficiaries of the latest round of grants doled out by the state to promote transportation and tourism.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board announced it has awarded a grant of $1 million to the Civil War Preservation Trust to buy battlefields and build access trails in Dinwiddie County. In addition, the CTB awarded Chesterfield County $175,000 to fund construction of the Virginia State University section of the Appomattox Riverside Trail.
The $1 million allocation for the battlefields in Dinwiddie is the second-largest item in the CTB's list of 71 grants totaling about $22 million. It is exceeded only by a $1.5 million statewide grant to fund creation and installation of multimedia information terminals at the state's 11 welcome centers.
The CBT is making promotion of Virginia's Civil War sites and wineries a priority in advance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, which kicks off next year. The 150th anniversary observance is expected to give a major boost to tourism statewide and locally over its four-year run.
Ann Blumenschine, a ranger at the Petersburg National Battlefield, said the grant to the Civil War Preservation Trust was a welcome surprise.
"We're very excited about it," she said. "Anything that helps the battlefields in Dinwiddie is good news."
Under a "final general management plan" that was drawn up by the National Park Service five years ago, the Petersburg park would acquire more than 7,200 acres of land adjacent to its current holdings, mainly through donations of land. The parcels are mostly less than 100 acres in size, but three - near the Five Forks, Hatcher's Run and White Oak Road units - are more than 1,000 acres each.
The expansion would nearly quadruple the battlefield park's land area and would bring under protection some locations that led the preservation trust in 2007 to list the Petersburg National Battlefield as among the nation's 10 most endangered Civil War sites. The group cited the threat of sprawl spurred by Fort Lee's expansion under the Base Realignment and Closure process in making the designation.
The plan gained some important support late last year when the House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, giving it congressional authorization, though no funds were appropriated. Committee hearings have been held on a matching bill in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., but no vote has been taken.
The Maryland-based Civil War Preservation Trust since 2001 has acquired almost 1,700 acres in Dinwiddie, mainly in small parcels but also including one 648-acre parcel on Gravelly Run.
The grant for the Appomattox River trail system also came as a happy surprise to local supporters of that project. Plans call for a 22.8-mile trail system on both sides of the river that will stretch from the George F. Brasfield Dam west of Matoaca to the confluence of the Appomattox with the James River in Hopewell. The project is being spearheaded by the Friends Of the Lower Appomattox River with the support of local governments and nonprofit groups.
Funding for the roughly $2 million project to date has come from sources including the Cameron Foundation, the Virginia Trails Project, local governments and the CBT.
The CBT grant "is great news," said K. Wayne Walton, chairman of FOLAR. He noted that Chesterfield County had previously bought some land to put into the trail system, and the VSU segment will be a key link in the trails on the north side of the river.
- Michael Buettner may be reached at 722-5155 or mbuettner@progress-index.com.
Online at: http://progress-index.com/news/money...ystem-1.860692
By Michael Buettner (Staff Writer)
Published: June 23, 2010
The Tri-City area is among the biggest beneficiaries of the latest round of grants doled out by the state to promote transportation and tourism.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board announced it has awarded a grant of $1 million to the Civil War Preservation Trust to buy battlefields and build access trails in Dinwiddie County. In addition, the CTB awarded Chesterfield County $175,000 to fund construction of the Virginia State University section of the Appomattox Riverside Trail.
The $1 million allocation for the battlefields in Dinwiddie is the second-largest item in the CTB's list of 71 grants totaling about $22 million. It is exceeded only by a $1.5 million statewide grant to fund creation and installation of multimedia information terminals at the state's 11 welcome centers.
The CBT is making promotion of Virginia's Civil War sites and wineries a priority in advance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, which kicks off next year. The 150th anniversary observance is expected to give a major boost to tourism statewide and locally over its four-year run.
Ann Blumenschine, a ranger at the Petersburg National Battlefield, said the grant to the Civil War Preservation Trust was a welcome surprise.
"We're very excited about it," she said. "Anything that helps the battlefields in Dinwiddie is good news."
Under a "final general management plan" that was drawn up by the National Park Service five years ago, the Petersburg park would acquire more than 7,200 acres of land adjacent to its current holdings, mainly through donations of land. The parcels are mostly less than 100 acres in size, but three - near the Five Forks, Hatcher's Run and White Oak Road units - are more than 1,000 acres each.
The expansion would nearly quadruple the battlefield park's land area and would bring under protection some locations that led the preservation trust in 2007 to list the Petersburg National Battlefield as among the nation's 10 most endangered Civil War sites. The group cited the threat of sprawl spurred by Fort Lee's expansion under the Base Realignment and Closure process in making the designation.
The plan gained some important support late last year when the House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, giving it congressional authorization, though no funds were appropriated. Committee hearings have been held on a matching bill in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., but no vote has been taken.
The Maryland-based Civil War Preservation Trust since 2001 has acquired almost 1,700 acres in Dinwiddie, mainly in small parcels but also including one 648-acre parcel on Gravelly Run.
The grant for the Appomattox River trail system also came as a happy surprise to local supporters of that project. Plans call for a 22.8-mile trail system on both sides of the river that will stretch from the George F. Brasfield Dam west of Matoaca to the confluence of the Appomattox with the James River in Hopewell. The project is being spearheaded by the Friends Of the Lower Appomattox River with the support of local governments and nonprofit groups.
Funding for the roughly $2 million project to date has come from sources including the Cameron Foundation, the Virginia Trails Project, local governments and the CBT.
The CBT grant "is great news," said K. Wayne Walton, chairman of FOLAR. He noted that Chesterfield County had previously bought some land to put into the trail system, and the VSU segment will be a key link in the trails on the north side of the river.
- Michael Buettner may be reached at 722-5155 or mbuettner@progress-index.com.
Online at: http://progress-index.com/news/money...ystem-1.860692