KING WILLIAM — The Land Trust of Virginia has announced a conservation easement that will protect hundreds of acres of land in King William County, saving working fields and forest from development in the fast-growing county.
The nonprofit recently announced the permanent protection of the Gasch Property, a 541-acre property on the border of Caroline County and King William County. The protection of the land through a donated conservation easement means the Land Trust has now expanded its conservation footprint into 38 counties across Virginia.
The Gasch Property, also known as Woodmont Farm, is owned by Manning “Chip” Gasch Jr. and Jeffra Gasch. It will remain protected from future development, “preserving its agricultural, forestal, scenic, and natural values for future generations,” the Land Trust of Virginia announced in a Jan. 5 news release.
The easement will allow the land to function as working farmland and forestry in the future while safeguarding significant water resources and wildlife habitat.
The Gasch Property is located within the Pamunkey River watershed. It features over 1.3 miles of frontage onto the river, as well as along Mill Creek. The property also includes extensive wetlands and floodplains that “support water quality, natural flood mitigation, and ecological integrity, benefiting the broader Chesapeake Bay watershed,” the release said.
More than three-quarters of the property is forested. The Land Trust said the rest of the property comprises “open fields with prime farmland soils well suited to continued agricultural use.”
“The conservation easement protects these productive soils and supports the long-term viability of farming and open space use in a region where rural land continues to play such a large role in the economic health of the region,” the Land Trust stated.
“This easement reflects a deep commitment to Virginia’s working lands and waterways,” said Ashton Cole, executive director of Land Trust of Virginia. “By protecting the Gasch Property, we are safeguarding a beautiful stretch of the Pamunkey River, preserving incredible forest habitat, and strengthening conservation connectivity in this region.”
The tract is about 2 miles northeast of Hanover and is zoned for rural preservation and agricultural conservation. The easement aligns with King William County’s Blueprint 2041 Comprehensive Plan and the Caroline County Comprehensive Plan.
The Land Trust of Virginia said it protects more than 37,000 acres across the state, advancing its “mission to conserve the landscapes that define the Commonwealth’s natural heritage, rural economy, and sense of place.”
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
