NVCT CELEBRATES 5,000TH ACRE PRESERVED!
This summer, NVCT achieved an important milestone --- the protection of its 5,000th acre preserved! By raising $1.3 million to assist in the acquisition of 1100 acres on the ecologically rare and historically valuable Crow’s Nest Peninsula in Stafford County, Virginia, NVCT moved its total of protected acreage to 5,368 acres, almost nine times the size of Arlington National Cemetery.
Since 1994, NVCT has preserved 2,207 acres of natural areas adjacent to parkland to save public viewsheds and over 26 miles of vegetation along Northern Virginia waterways to improve water quality. At the announcement of surpassing 5,000 acres preserved, NVCT President Mike Nardolilli commented that “NVCT is pleased to mark this important milestone, especially coming as it does just two months before NVCT celebrates its 15th year of saving nearby nature.” NVCT Vice Chairman and Founder Rich Bliss added that “It is also fitting that the protection of additional land at Crow’s Nest helped put us over the top because NVCT’s first land acquisition occurred on Crow’s Nest in 1997.”
NVCT FIGHTS FOR MORE PUBLIC PARKS!
This summer also witnessed the culmination of ma ny months of work by NVCT when the region’s federal legislato rs introduced the National Capital Region Land Conservation Act. The legislation would authorize appropriations of up to $50 million per year for cost share grants to State, re gional and local gov ernments to acquire public parkland in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. The House bill (H.R. 2986) was introduced b y Congressman Jim Moran (8th Va.) in June and the Senate version (S. 1525) was introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (Md.) in July.
“Congressman Moran spoke about his idea for this great program at the NVCT Conservation Breakfast in January,” said Mike Nardolilli, President of NVCT. “We have worked hard to get this important legislation introduced and we will continue to fight for more public parkland in our area,” Nardolilli added.
NVCT’s 6th Kayak Season: It’s not over yet!
NVCT is having another great summer kayaking around Northern Virginia. We’ve dropped our prices and added a new program to our roster: the Historic Alexandria Waterfront, which is proving wildly popular! By the end of July, NVCT had led participants on a record 8 expeditions. We launched trips out of Belmont Bay 3 times (including the first Sunset Spectacular trip), Pohick Bay 2 times (including a Birders Special), and so far have explored the Historic Alexandria Waterfront 3 times (including our first ever 4th of July trip). Throughout the season, we’ve been lucky to enjoy a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. The Sunset Spectacular trip was particularly notable for the number of bald eagles and great blue herons out fishing in the dusk. We’ve also seen a beaver, dozens of northern water snakes, great egrets, various song birds, dragonflies, turtles, and one time a jumping fish even landed in one of the boats! By the end of the last scheduled trip, we had taken out over 110 people and shared over 350 hours of environmental education. This season has also been exceptionally lucky with the weather: only one trip had to be canceled due to afternoon thunderstorms.
But wait, it’s not over yet! Due to the combined popularity of the Historic Alexandria trips and the trip price reductions, NVCT has decided to offer two more trips to cap off the season. On Saturday, August 22nd, we’ll be taking a final trip along the Historic Alexandria Waterfront; and on September 12th, we’ll talk about autumn coming to Pohick Bay. The trip planning and registration processes have been made easier this season as a result of the new online registration form on NVCT’s website (www.nvct.org). Interested participants can now go directly to the website and register for any of the scheduled trips.
NVCT looks forward to next season, when we’ll also be launching opportunities for Corporate and Group kayak tours. Start planning your staff retreats now and we’ll see you on the water in 2010!
www.nvct.org
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