This view overlooks a parcel of land that recently was included in a conservation easement in Mouth of Wilson, Va. The land is near the N.C. border.

A conservation easement has been filed on original Va. prison site on New River

Editor's Note: The following information was furnished by the New River Land Trust.

A two-and-a-half mile stretch of the New River that was once proposed as a site for a state prison has now been protected with a conservation easement, according to a press release provided by New River Land Trust Executive Director Elizabeth Obenshain.

The landowner, 92-year-old Mastin Fayne "Buster" Osborne, and his family have owned a farm along a bluff overlooking the New for generations. About two years ago, it was recommended by a private company that a prison be built on land surrounding the Osborne farm along a horseshoe bend of the river.

When landowners along the river found another site for the prison, Osborne opted to buy his neighbor's land. The tract's only access is through Osborne's farm.

At 91, Osborne negotiated the purchase and contacted the New River Land Trust to put the family farm and newly acquired property—totaling 546 acres—under easement.

On Dec. 19, 2008, Osborne finalized and filed an easement that will be co-held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the National Committee for the New River.

"This easement is so important because it is an essential block in a growing corridor of protected land in Grayson County critical to the scenic character and the water quality of the New River," remarked Dixie Leonard, president of the New River Land Trust.

At present, more than 18 miles of the New River are protected with conservation easements.

NatureServe and National Geographic are launching LandScope America, a conservation Web site. The site, a resource for the land-protection community and public, is featuring Osborne's story as one of its first features. Mary Bishop, a retired Roanoke Times reporter, wrote the story while Floyd photographer Fred First took photos.

Meanwhile, neighboring landowners Phil and Charlotte Hanes of Winston-Salem and Jerry and Mary Osborne Young have already protected hundreds of acres of farmland.

The Osborne easement is one of dozens that was finalized last month by the Virginia

Outdoors Foundation, which protects more than 500,000 acres of natural, scenic, historic, open-space, and recreational land in Virginia. "It was a privilege to work with the Osbornes to help them protect their family farm"

 

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