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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEAAgenda2026January221.Welcome and Introductions 2.Meeting Minutes 2.A.Meeting Minutes of December 4, 2025 3.Snapp Easement Inspection Report - Informational 3.A.Snapp Easement Inspection Report 4.Continue Outreach Activity Discussion 4.A.Organizations Previously Discussed for Outreach 1. Lake Frederick Conservation Group 2. Homesteaders Group 3. WISE Group 4.B.Targeted Events 1. Belle Grove Plant Sale (GardenFest) June 6, 2026 2. Homesteaders Farm Crawl 5.Website Discussion 6.Budget Request - Mailings, Materials 7.Other AGENDA CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2026 9:00 AM PLANNING DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE ROOM FREDERICK COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING WINCHESTER, VA CEA01-22-26MeetingMinutesDecember4.pdf CEA01-22-26SnappEasementInspectionReport_Redacted.pdf 1 Conservation Easement Authority Agenda Item Detail Meeting Date: January 22, 2026 Agenda Section: Meeting Minutes Title: Meeting Minutes of December 4, 2025 Attachments: CEA01-22-26MeetingMinutesDecember4.pdf 2 MEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY CONSERVATION EASEMENT AUTHORITY Held in the Planning Department Conference Room of the Frederick County Administration Building at 107 North Kent Street in Winchester, Virginia on December 4, 2025. PRESENT: Diane Kearns, Chairman; Todd Lodge, Vice-Chairman; Elaine Cain, Wendy Dorsey, Philip Haines, Leslie Spencer, Charles Markert, Planning Commission Liaison; Judith McCann- Slaughter, Board of Supervisor Liaison. ABSENT: Patricia Scheulen-Ferrell. STAFF PRESENT: John Bishop, Assistant Planning Director. PUBLIC MEETING Welcome and Introduction The meeting was called to order by the Chairman Kearns at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Haines made a motion to approve October 23, 2025, minutes and was seconded by Ms. Dorsey. Follow up on the event on November 20, 2025. The overall consensus of the event was well received. There was interaction with the citizens. The attendance wasn’t great but there was another event that evening. CEA needs to continue informational session. Chairman Kearns suggested that CEA needs to partner with other organizations. Members were asked to contact other organizations to see if the CEA could partner at their events. Contact organizations. • Lake Frederick Conservation Group • Homesteads Group • WISE Group Committee members gave suggestions as to events that CEA could attend. Belle Grove Plant Sale, Blandy Farm, and Farm Crawl. 3 Chairman Kearns suggested the group start small then expand: 1. Small scale events such as vendor events. Belle Grove, Blandy Farm and Farm Crawl. 2. See if an easement holder would host an event at their property. 3. Hold an event at a community building. Items are needed for events, presentations, brochures, easement map and a canopy. Chairman Kearns is requesting the Board of Supervisors for assistance in funding CEA project from roll back taxes or solar farm citing agreement. Chairman Kearns polled the Board as to their views on rural acres. Preserving water, soil, and agricultural land Rural land is anything outside of UDA Preserve Agricultural areas. House on 5-acres or more. A member was asked to contact the National Growers Association, to see if the CEA could partner with the organization at their events. Staff mentioned that the Comprehensive Plan is being reviewed and maybe incorporate a section in the Comprehensive Plan Update on Environment. Staff mentioned that a HRAB liaison might be attending the CEA meeting. The Authority members gave their views on the meeting on October 23. An Authority member stated the County has a lot of assets and the location to D.C. makes a difference, but it is not sure if the Board realized this opportunity. The Authority would like the Board to answer the question about what the County’s vision is for the future. An Authority member stated 25% of land is in conservation easement in Clarke County. Clarke County has a vision and is very active in conservation and very little residential development. Future Upcoming Event Belle Grove hosts a Master Gardener Festival event on the first Saturday of June. • Educating about CEA • Comprehensive Plan Update • Mail out brochure Next meeting will be held January. The Committee has been asked to review the CEA website and will discuss it at next meeting. Inquiries were made about a Facebook page and pictures of conservation pictures. The goal for the Authority is to raise awareness and raise funds to help protect the County assets. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:17. 4 Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Diane Kearns, Chairman ______________________________ John A. Bishop, CEA Secretary 5 Conservation Easement Authority Agenda Item Detail Meeting Date: January 22, 2026 Agenda Section: Snapp Easement Inspection Report - Informational Title: Snapp Easement Inspection Report Attachments: CEA01-22-26SnappEasementInspectionReport_Redacted.pdf 6 PARTNERING WITH LANDOWNERS TO PROTECT UPSTREAM FORESTS & WORKING LANDS. Recognized as a nationally accredited land trust by the Land Trust Alliance 20 East Piccadilly Street, Suite 7 | Winchester, VA 22601 | 540.667.3606 potomac.org/lands December 23, 2025 David and Linda Lowers 5522 Cedar Creek Grade Winchester VA 22602 Dear David and Linda, Thank you for allowing Potomac Conservancy (PC) to access your property in June 2025 for annual conservation easement monitoring. We visited both the northern and southern parcels, which are held in conservation easements by PC, the Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (northern parcel) and Potomac Conservancy and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (southern parcel). From what we observed during the visit, current use and management appear to conform with the terms of the conservation easement. Specifically, the new dwelling being constructed on the southern parcel appeared to be in good order; the house is likely being lived in by the timing of this letter. Consistent with recent visits and our formal discussions, the banks of Cedar Creek continue to erode. Potomac Conservancy wishes you the best in your efforts to find and fund strategies to stabilize the banks and the riparian area, whether through tree planting, bank armoring, or a combination of the two. Please let us know if you require our input, a letter of support, or basic mapping services as part of your planning process. As the Director of Land Management and Stewardship for the Potomac Conservancy, I want to let you know how much we appreciate your conservation efforts. This letter and accompanying monitoring report and photographs serve as a record of our 2025 monitoring and are saved in the offices of Potomac Conservancy, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority. Note that the address of our Winchester VA field office has changed to 20 East Piccadilly Street, Suite 7 Winchester VA 22601. If you have questions, plans for change, or contact information to update, please contact me at (540) 667-3606 or feaga@potomac.org. Sincerely, Jeff Feaga Director of Land Management and Stewardship 7 2025 Annual Monitoring Report Snapp Farm Property Information Name:Snapp Farm Interest:Conservation Easement Tax Map Parcel: Address: Local Jurisdiction: County/Province:Frederick State:Virginia Size: 89.75 Acres Interest Holders & Contacts Owner David and Linda Lowers 5522 Cedar Creek Grade Winchester, VA 22602 Contact Luke Whitaker Coholder Frederick County Conservation Easement Authority (Kearns, Diane) 540-667-3390 didi@shentel.net Coholder Natural Resources Conservation Service Monitoring Details Summary: Pasture management yields excellent looking pasture. Invasives are not prevalent in the main sections of pasture. The herd of 70-80 cattle have access to sections of both properties and are managed well. Overall good management and good looking pasture. Standard letter Page 1 of 8 8 Date: 6/16/2025 Visit Length: 0.82 hours Start Time: 12:57 PM End Time: 1:45 PM Time Tracking: Name Role Hours Jeff Feaga Staff 0.81 Annual Monitoring Report Landowner Questions A form section that contains questions regarding landowner information. Site Visit Permission given by David Lowers Site Visit Permission given on 6/13/2025 Did you contact the owner or owner's representative prior to monitoring? Yes No Who was contacted prior to the visit? David Lowers How were they contacted? Phone Email In person Left voicemail Letter No contact Other Are there any changes since the previous site visit? Yes No Does the owner plan to make any changes that may be relevant to the easement? Yes No Non PC attendees Nathan Horner Land Stewardship Fellow Page 2 of 8 9 Landowner Questions or Comments none Site Assessment A form section that contains questions about monitoring details and observations. Weather conditions at time of visit Sunny Cloudy Precipitation Snow cover Other Are there any issues with buildings or man-made structures? Yes No Observations re natural features Pasture was well managed and a large abundance of large trees Did you see any notable, significant, or rare species? Yes No Are there invasive species where management could improve the site? Yes No Management recommendations Continue to monitor invasives for... Areas visited Access points Boundaries - all Boundaries - some Abutting potential encroachments Restoration areas Riparian Areas New Building Zone Other Follow-Up Did you see a possible violation or issue that needs staff review? Page 3 of 8 10 Yes No Is there other follow up needed? Yes No General Notes Is there any other relevant information? Yes No Monitor Signature Sign this form to indicate that you completed observations for annual monitoring. I attest that this report is a fair and accurate representation of the conditions of the property at the time of the visit. Jeff Feaga, Director of Land Management and Stewardship June 20th, 2025 at 8:02:30 AM GMT-4 by user: feaga@potomac.org Page 4 of 8 11 Observation Map The data displayed on this map was collected via the Landscape mobile app. Boundaries are approximate and may not reflect surveyed positions. 500 ft Aerial imagery dates: 10/1/2018 | Powered by Esri | Sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community | Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community Page 5 of 8 12 Human Use Points Issue Areas Easement Areas Property Lines Property Points Record Boundary Site Visit Points Site Visit Lines Site Visit Areas Page 6 of 8 13 2025 Annual Monitoring Report Snapp Farm Photos Photopoint 01: View of north side of the property from the road. On visual examination the pasture seems to be well managed. Location: 39.09513, -78.32376, Facing: Southwest Photopoint 02: View of the entrance gate. Gate is in decent shape. Location: 39.09406, -78.32252, Facing: West Photopoint 03: View of the eastern side of the property from the road. Abundance of large trees providing shelter and shade for the herd of cattle Location: 39.09127, -78.32149, Facing: South-Southwest Photopoint 04: The southmost corner of the property where it borders with Wagon Wheel Location: 39.08789, -78.32169, Facing: South-Southeast Page 7 of 8 14 Photopoint 05: Typical condition of the pasture. Appears to be well managed with no obvious gullies or large presence of invasive flora Location: 39.09269, -78.32465, Facing: Northwest Photopoint 06: Jeff with a portion of the cattle herd. The herd manager noted the herd is about 70 - 80 cattle and they have access to Wagon Wheel property as well. Location: 39.09069, -78.32282, Facing: West Date Generated: 6/20/2025 Page 8 of 8 15 Conservation Easement Authority Agenda Item Detail Meeting Date: January 22, 2026 Agenda Section: Continue Outreach Activity Discussion Title: Organizations Previously Discussed for Outreach 1. Lake Frederick Conservation Group 2. Homesteaders Group 3. WISE Group Attachments: 16 Conservation Easement Authority Agenda Item Detail Meeting Date: January 22, 2026 Agenda Section: Continue Outreach Activity Discussion Title: Targeted Events 1. Belle Grove Plant Sale (GardenFest) June 6, 2026 2. Homesteaders Farm Crawl Attachments: 17