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City's new riverfront land management plan could be in place by midsummer Date published: 5/21/2010
By RUSTY DENNEN Fredericksburg's plan to manage its watershed property along the Rappahannock River is moving along. The latest draft was recently delivered to the city's planning office. Senior Planner Erik Nelson said this week that it should get to the Planning Commission soon. It could be before the City Council as early as July, where there's likely to be some discussion about specifics. Namely, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries contends there should be more public access points on the property. Other river-users say trapping and horseback riding should be allowed. Currently there are two public access points: Motts Run and Ely's Ford. Trapping is permitted in the river, but not on the city-owned riverbank. Horseback riding and gold panning are among existing prohibited uses, while hunting and camping are allowed. "The management plan clearly defines the special values of this unique river corridor and begins the process of addressing controls on activities that may impact these values," John Tippett, executive director of the Friends of the Rappahannock, said Wednesday. The river conservation group led a committee of interested parties that drafted the plan. Public hearings were held in March 2009 and in February. The land in question is the 4,232 acres covered by a permanent conservation easement approved by City Council in April 2006. FOR received a grant to draw up a management plan for the property. 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 for over a year. The aim is to balance growing recreational uses with preserving the river, its shoreline, wildlife and historic sites. "The conservation easement provided the overall protection for the property, but it intentionally avoided addressing some of the more detailed land management measures, because these need the flexibility to change over time," Tippett said. "It was determined that a watershed property management plan was the best tool to address these issues." The land, running along the riverbank for 25 miles upstream into five localities, is considered an environmental jewel because of its size and location. The plan's approach is management by infrastructure. "This recognizes that impacts are best controlled by managing where we build things--like [boat] put-ins," Tippett said. It seeks to promote a range of recreational experiences for the public, "but not every single experience on every reach of river." So, the corridor closest to the city is designated for more intensive use and access, while the confluence of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers and upstream is designated for lower impact uses. Fredericksburg first drew up a management plan for the land--purchased from Virginia Electric & Power Co. in the 1960s--in 1991. Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Date published: 5/21/2010
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