Protecting the Land and Water of Virginia’s Capital Region Since 2005
Incorporated in Virginia in March 2005 as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, CRLC was created in order to fill a void in natural resource conservation in the Richmond area. CRLC merged with the Goochland Land Alliance in 2009 and Friends of Chesterfields Riverfront in 2014.
In 2010, CRLC was awarded a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for its work with the City of Richmond to preserve more than 280 acres of the James River Park System. This easement is the first conservation easement of its kind in the Commonwealth – preserving a major urban park for the enjoyment of future generations while protecting the area’s water quality by protecting a key riparian buffer area.
In 2012, CRLC was also awarded (along with the Chesterfield Parks and Recreation Department) a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Honorable Mention Award for the protection of over 100 acres in Chesterfield County for use as the future Atkins Acres Community Park.
In 2019, it was awarded a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for a third time for acquiring and preserving Malvern Hill Farm for $6.6 million. The property had gone on the market and CRLC assembled a complex funding matrix to protect the property. CRLC has since transferred portions to the National Park Service, Henrico County, and James River Association for future public park and recreation space
CRLC has protected over 12,000 acres of land, including over 44 miles of stream and river frontage since 2005. Of that, CRLC holds or co-holds conservation easements on more than 2,300 acres and, as of January 2021, has fee simple ownership of approximately 500 acres. In total, CRLC can claim to have facilitated the protection of 20% of the conserved acreage within its service area – including private, local, state and federal lands. However, in a region comprising of 1.4 million acres, this covers only 5.4% of the land. CRLC seeks to expand ongoing efforts to protect a minimum of 10% of the region’s acreage and 100 miles of James River riverfront.
CRLC 10 Year Timeline
CRLC timeline.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [636.1 KB]
