Trail Access Grant Project Before / After
From providing the first accessible Roanoke River Blueway access point to supporting habitat for a state rare dragonfly, donors to Virginia's Open Space Recreation and Conservation Fund have been making a difference for nearly four decades.
Since 1988, the state has offered a simple way to support biodiversity conservation and outdoor recreation by contributing a portion of your state tax refund. In the last three years, the fund has raised more than $61,000 in voluntary contributions.
Half of this funding is used to offer grants to localities for outdoor recreation projects and the rest has supported land acquisition projects with biodiversity benefits as part of Virginia's Natural Area Preserve system.
Outdoor recreation
Part of the fund currently supports the new Trail Access Grants program, designed to increase access to trail opportunities for people with disabilities.
One of the projects made possible with a grant was for the City of Roanoke to overhaul an access point to the Roanoke River. The site under the 13th Street SE bridge at Bennington Street SE is now accessible to people with disabilities for fishing, boating and recreation.
In the Town of Shenandoah, improvements have been made to Big Gem Park with this grant support. The town added an accessible parking spot and a smooth, wide trail.
The program, launched in 2021, has held one grant round so far. The fund will be able to offer additional grant rounds as contributions accumulate.
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The other half of the fund goes toward acquiring land that benefits biodiversity through additions to the Natural Area Preserve System, which now has 69 preserves.
The fund helped support the recent addition of 56 acres to the Camp Branch Wetlands Natural Area Preserve in Floyd County. One of the rare species that makes its home in such wetland areas is the Appalachian snaketail dragonfly.
Established in 1989 to protect the state's rare plants, animals and natural communities, the preserve system is managed for long-term protection by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, whose mission is conserving Virginia's biodiversity.
As limited funds are available to support the preserve system, the Open Space Recreation and Conservation Fund provides an important resource to help add to existing preserves or establish new ones.
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Contributions may be made on Schedule VAC, Section II, which accompanies the individual tax return Form 760 Line 31. To choose the Open Space Recreation and Conservation Fund, taxpayers must write Code Number 68 in the section for voluntary contributions. For more information, go to https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/checkoff.
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