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Protecting scenic Rappahannock, new bike, pedestrian and water trails are among recommendations in latest draft of Virginia Outdoors Plan for area.

Date published: 10/27/2006

By RUSTY DENNEN

More miles of scenic river designation, additional bike and pedestrian paths, water trails, and public access for recreation are among Fredericksburg-area recommendations in the latest version of the Virginia Outdoors Plan.

The draft plan, updated by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation every five years, will be the subject of public meetings Monday here and in the Northern Neck.

"The [plan] has long been an important tool in meeting Virginians' outdoor recreational needs," said DCR Director Joseph H. Maroon. "With Gov. Kaine's commitment to land conservation, this plan takes on added significance."

The plan is the state's wish list for recreation and open space projects. "It's a guidance document," said Gary Waugh, spokesman for the department.

For example, the Rappahannock River is designated as a state Scenic River from its headwaters in Chester Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Ferry Farm-Mayfield Bridge. That designation was part of the 2002 outdoor plan.

The 2007 draft would extend the designation downriver to the King George-Westmoreland line.

Waugh said it appears that the rest of the Rappahannock to the Chesapeake Bay could get the designation, "But it's up to localities to say, 'Yes, we're interested,' to see if it qualifies."

If they agree, "Then we would do an actual evaluation of the river," Waugh said.

Such a designation does not give the state control over land use, or open privately owned land to public use, but gives the state a veto on any proposed dam, while encouraging preservation and protection.

"It protects the scenic value of the river," said John Tippett, executive director of the Friends of the Rappahannock. "It clearly is an exceptional scenic resource and merits that level of protection."

River protection, he said, is best done by local ordinance and through other state statutes.

Another recommendation for the Fredericksburg area is the inclusion of Fredericksburg Pathways, an existing system of bicycle and pedestrian trails in the city connecting with other sites, including the Rappahannock River Heritage Trail and the Virginia Central Rail Trail.

The Rappahannock Group of the Sierra Club and several local planning and transportation agencies met last week on the topic, advocating a connected, regional system of trails.

The draft outdoors plan also recommends completion of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. That trail connects natural and cultural features along a 700-mile corridor of the Potomac River watershed from the bay to the Allegheny highlands. The National Park Service manages that project, which has numerous stops in the Fredericksburg area.

Three proposals are in the draft plan for the Northern Neck, which includes Westmoreland, Richmond, Northumberland and Lancaster counties:

Incorporating the National Park Service's Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail in local comprehensive plans as a way to foster heritage and ecology tourism in the region.

Date published: 10/27/2006