Aerial view of the Rappahannock River upstream from the Interstate 95 bridge. The City Council last night approved a conservation easement for more than 4,200 acres along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. FILE/SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

City Council approves river easement, plans to seek additional funds for river protection.

Date published: 4/12/2006

By EMILY BATTLE

Cheers erupted last night after the Fredericksburg City Council voted 6-0 to approve a permanent conservation easement for more than 4,200 acres the city owns along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers.

It was the first of two votes the council must take to approve the easement, which is to be held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. The council will take the second required vote April 25.

Councilman Hashmel Turner was absent from last night's meeting because his brother suffered a heart attack. His condition was not available last night.

The easement prohibits development on the river land. But after three years of work, council members have built in flexibility they think will make the easement a workable document for the region as it grows.

One of the most-discussed provisions would allow roads and utility lines to cross the river in the future. Decisions on those issues would remain in local hands, with a simple majority vote required from governing boards in Fredericksburg and the localities in which the land lies to approve them.

Mayor Tom Tomzak called the easement "a gift to our children."

"We have set a great example for regional cooperation that will hopefully be followed in the future," he said.

He said that now that Fredericksburg has made its commitment to the river, surrounding counties, the state and federal governments and other groups should follow with money to help the city take care of the river.

With the $1.6 million The Nature Conservancy has offered for the easement plus other anticipated contributions, the city plans to establish a river stewardship program to make sure the land is policed, protected and preserved for years to come.

City Councilwoman Kerry Devine said the city's approval of the easement agreement is an important first step toward talking further with county officials about funding.

"The counties have been waiting for us to make the decision on this document," Devine said. "The counties have not been willing to come on board before we have."

Before the vote on the easement document, council members voted 6-0 to create a separate Riparian Lands Stewardship Fund in the city budget. Proceeds from the easement sale and any future money the city gets for river protection would be deposited in the account.

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Date published: 4/12/2006