Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Map

• Carvins Cove Natural Reserve Management Plan map

Roanoke Mayor Nelson Harris called in August for a conservation easement to protect Carvins Cove from development.

Now, it appears that next week, Roanoke City Council will take the first step toward that goal, placing 7,000 of the 12,000 acres in Carvins Cove Natural Reserve under a conservation easement -- the largest yet in Virginia.

At its meeting Monday, the council is scheduled to vote on a management plan for the reserve, which will set into motion work on an easement that would immediately place 7,000 acres of trails, ridges and hollows under protection.

"It can immediately take care of those ridges, which are the most vulnerable to erosion if they were to have any significant development," Harris said.

Based on conversations during a council meeting last week, the plan appears to have unanimous support from the council.

"This is a significant legacy for this council and this city to leave to the citizens of the valley," said Councilwoman Gwen Mason.

"This is an incredibly wonderful opportunity for Roanoke to play a role in making sure this remains natural land," said Councilman Bev Fitzpatrick. "It's the right thing to do, so we need to do it."

The easement would prohibit the development of any habitable structures, though it would allow for construction of small privies and would not affect the use of trails running through the area. City officials say they intend to eventually place much of the reserve's remaining 5,000 acres into easements as well, though they will likely be more loosely structured to allow more recreational amenities.

Steve Buschor, the city's director of parks and recreation, said people want a wide variety of recreational opportunities at Carvins Cove -- camping, swimming, hiking, biking and equestrian pursuits.

"Ultimately the use of Carvins Cove is not only as an outdoor recreation resource, it's a resource for the region," Buschor said. "It's unique in the fact that, where nearby do you have another 12,000-acre park? We're trying to develop it so there's something there for all members of the region."

Conservation easements are agreements that place development restrictions on land. They can be strict or more lenient, depending on the piece of property and the landowner's wishes. The easement on the 7,000-acre piece of land, for example, will be more restrictive, while easements on other portions of the reserve will likely be written more loosely.

"In this case we're talking about taking 7,000 acres and saying no habitable structures at all, and the city won't subdivide it. No timber cutting without a management plan and approval of the easement holder," said Roger Holnback, executive director of the Western Virginia Land Trust, which is assisting with the easement.

"The remaining 5,000 acres will be divided according to the management plan," Holnback said. "It really calls for two more significant zones: one to be a buffer between the no-building zones on top of the mountain, and the lower slope areas along the edge of the lake and up toward Bennett Springs where it's appropriate to develop some facilities."

Those may include an equestrian facility or even a building to host meetings for academic or community groups, he said. The city has made no decisions about such ideas at this time, but it's the kind of thing that parks and recreation officials will discuss in the months and years to come.

"It's incredible we can have that much seemingly virgin land so close to a metropolitan area," Holnback said. "People have said this is something they want preserved, so we can have this unspoiled but accessible resource. It's only just a few miles from the city, just the other side of [Interstate] 81, but when you're in there you wouldn't know that 81's just on the other side of the ridge."

Former Councilman Rupert Cutler said he has been trying for 10 years to get a conservation easement at Carvins Cove. And though he's glad to see these latest steps, he said he would prefer to see the entire reserve protected.

"Protecting 7,000 acres is no small matter," Cutler said. "But there's no point in going back to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation two or three times for conservation easements. We can write a conservation easement for the entire cove that gives parks and rec staff room for trails, sanitary and rec facilities, educational kiosks, fire road, improving the boating facilities. All that stuff and more can be done within the conservation easement."

With the cove's status as the Roanoke Valley's primary source of public drinking water, Cutler is also skeptical about some proposed activities in the reserve, which is owned by the city but located in Botetourt and Roanoke counties.

"It would be contrary to the mission of protecting the water supply if we allow overnight use," Cutler said. "Waste, open fires -- those could harm the watershed."

Still, he thinks the city is moving in the right direction. And Cutler acknowledges that even with only a portion of the reserve, this will still be the largest conservation easement held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Previously, the largest had been a 4,300-acre piece of land placed in an easement by the city of Fredericksburg. The next largest is a 4,100-acre parcel of land known as "God's Thumbprint" in Tazewell County.

This first easement will take several months to develop. It will require approval by the city council and will then be held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Easements on the remaining land in Carvins Cove Natural Reserve will follow over the next few years as the city decides what to do with the park land.