SVBF Applauds Virginia’s Battlefield Preservation Accomplishments

For immediate release—April 20, 2010
Contact: Elizabeth Paradis Stern (540-740-4545)

CHANCELLORSVILLE, Va.— The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation released the following statement today from executive director W. Denman Zirkle following a ceremony in Chancellorsville this afternoon with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech, Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Kathleen Kilpatrick, Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell, Civil War Preservation Trust President Jim Lighthizer, and numerous other dignitaries.

During the ceremony, Governor McDonnell signed into law legislation permanently establishing the Virginia Civil War Sites Preservation Fund, a matching grants program to protect battlefield land in the Old Dominion. In addition, the Governor announced $300,000 in new grant awards for seven properties, including two that have been preserved by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation in partnership with the Department of Historic Resources and the Civil War Preservation Trust.

"I want to thank the Governor McDonnell, Secretary Domenech, and Director Kilpatrick for their commitment to preservation of the places that honor Virginia’s important role in American history. And the Civil War Preservation Trust has been such a strong partner as well. We are grateful for that partnership.

"The Shenandoah Valley is fabled for the beauty of its landscape and the river for which it is named. But it is so much more. In 1996, Congress recognized the unique significance of the Shenandoah Valley's Civil War battlefields and authorized special funding to protect them. So far, about 4,000 of the region’s 20,000 battlefield acres have been preserved, about half of that – 2,000 acres – by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. But the challenge is that we have 16,000 acres of unprotected land to go.

"At the Fisher’s Hill battlefield, the Foundation has protected 394 acres. The state funds we are receiving are helping us protect an additional 32 acres through a conservation easement, which will help the farm landowner keep his land in agricultural production.

"This property is in the viewshed of 275 acres of preserved land and a nearby interpretive trail on the battlefield—a trail that will ultimately connect to other battlefield areas and through the town of Strasburg to the new Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.

"At Cedar Creek, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has protected almost 500 acres, making the Foundation the largest public trust landowner within the National Historical Park. The state funds announced today are helping us protect an additional 40 beautiful acres near the creek that saw the early morning Confederate attack on Union troops.

"This project also protects water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The land is within the flood plain of the creek, protecting a half-mile of riparian buffer for the waterway, which drains into the Shenandoah River and ultimately the Bay.

"I want to also acknowledge the hard work of Senator Jim Webb, whose own dedication to battlefield preservation assures Federal appropriations for battlefield preservation in the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to his commitment, Federal funds appropriated last fiscal year were used to match the Commonwealth’s funds, making these projects possible. We are grateful to Senator Webb for his leadership.

"Thank you again, Bob, Doug, and Kathleen. Future generations of Americans and Virginians will benefit from your commitment to preserving these important historic places."

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As authorized by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves as the non-profit manager of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, partnering with local, regional, and national organizations and governments to preserve the Valley’s battlefields and interpret and promote the region’s Civil War story.

Created by Congress in 1996, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District encompasses Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia and the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester. The legislation authorizes federal funding for the protection of ten battlefields in the District: Second Winchester, Third Winchester, Second Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, New Market, Cross Keys, Port Republic, and McDowell.

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ON THE WEB:

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
www.ShenandoahAtWar.org

National Park Service 1992 study of the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War battlefields:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs0-1.html

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