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Trappers question draft plan for river

Public weighs in on draft watershed property management plan governing Fredericksburg's riverfront conservation easement land

Date published: 2/18/2010

By RUSTY DENNEN

There were lots of questions about the draft management plan for Fredericksburg's watershed property. But at last night's public meeting at the University of Mary Washington, one weighty topic kept coming up--trapping.

A contingent of trappers, some with camo hats and vests, filled out question cards. Among them were Roy Foltz of Spotsylvania County and Roy Wood of Page County.

"The state of Virginia says we can trap" in the Rappahannock, Foltz said. However, trappers would have to cross the city-owned land to get to the river. As it now stands, trapping is not allowed, though hunting is.

Foltz and Wood said there are muskrats, beavers and raccoons to be had on the thin strip of land that runs along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers from Fredericksburg through portions of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Orange, Culpeper and Fauquier counties.

"Why are hunters allowed to hunt, and trappers are treated like black sheep?" Foltz asked. "All we want is a fair shake. Now, you've got us shut out."

Erik Nelson, the city's senior planner who worked on the document, said the comments will be considered, and he thanked them for coming, adding, "We won't shut you out."

Ron Hughes, wildlife lands manager for the state game department, said the agency had hoped for more public access points for boaters and others who use the river, saying that its recommendations have been "virtually ignored." There are few public boat ramps on the property.

The land in question is the 4,232 acres covered by a permanent conservation easement approved by Fredericksburg City Council in April 2006. The Friends of the Rappahannock received a grant more than a year ago to draw up a management plan for the property. A committee last night unveiled a draft of the document.

FOR, city staff, the easement holders--The Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries--and Lee Sillitoe, the watershed property manager, have been working on it. The first public session was held last March.

The aim is to balance growing recreational uses while preserving the river, its shoreline, wildlife and historic sites.

RIVERFRONT LAND Fredericksburg purchased 4,945 acres along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers from Virginia Electric & Power Co. in the 1960s. The property runs over 20 miles upstream into Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Orange and Fauquier counties. The conservation easement, approved by the City Council in April 2006, covers 4,232 acres. The easement permanently restricts most types of development on the property.

Date published: 2/18/2010

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