Attendance

Neal Barber (VA Economic Development Partnership, Middle Peninsula Land Trust); David Birdsall (Resource Management Service, Inc.); Robert Major, Dorothy Miller (Dragon Run Steering Committee); Pat Tyrrell (Tidewater Resource Conservation and Development); Rebecca Wilson (VA Division of Natural Heritage); David Milby (VA Dept. of Forestry); Andy Lacatell (The Nature Conservancy); Davis Wilson (Landowner, Middlesex); David Fuss (Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission)

Welcome

David Fuss welcomed everyone and began introductions. David explained the handout – a map of the Conservation Sites identified by the VA Division of Natural Heritage.

Priority Areas Discussion

David presented the following priority areas that were distilled from the March 19 meeting:

Protect natural buffers/wetlands
Reduce/prevent fragmentation of farms, forests, and hunt club leases
Acknowledge community benefits of forestry and farming and improve public perception of these economic sectors
Achieve consistency among land use regulations across county boundaries to preserve farming and forestry
Acknowledge community benefits of large farm/forest landowners, while realizing that ownership changes may threaten current landscape condition
Improve/highlight incentive (e.g. financial) for using wildlife and water quality BMP’s (e.g. programs, certification)
Continue to gather data/information to assess changes in watershed health over time

Discussion focused on the priority areas and considerable attention was paid to wording and defining concepts. Discussions touched on: Bay Act enforcement; pressures on farming and forestry; fear of fragmentation due to subdivision of parcels (studied parcel maps); implementation of BMP’s; data collection; ecological integrity of the watershed; aesthetic quality of the watershed; wariness of land use restrictions vs. unacceptable land use changes; and property rights and fears/concerns of landowners

Goals

The following goals were agreed upon by the group:

Consistency across county boundaries among land use plans and regulations in order to maintain farming and forestry and to preserve natural heritage areas
Increase the public’s awareness of the community and economic benefits of farming, forestry, and natural characteristics of the Dragon Run
Retain current parcel size to reduce fragmentation of farms, forests, and wildlife habitat
Comprehensive implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) for water quality, wildlife habitat, and soil conservation
Continuously monitor the health of the watershed
Preserve the integrity of the Dragon Run watershed by protecting plants, animals, natural communities, and aquatic systems
Protect and respect community values, traditional uses, and property rights

The group decided not to attempt the prioritize the goals at this point, but to present all of them to the entire Advisory Group and consider prioritizing the goals at that time.

Adjourn

The next meeting will be with the entire Advisory Group on May 8, 2002 at 7:30 PM at the MPPDC offices in Saluda.