Protecting Wildlife Corridor in Powhatan
The first in a series of conservation easements recorded in Powhatan County, this site protects wildlife habitat and agricultural land. Chris Benonis and Christine Cadigan-Benonis donated the conservation easement a year after acquiring the land along Muddy Creek in 2022 with the dream of permanently protecting it with a perpetual easement. The easement protects 87 acres of forest cover, preserves natural resources on the property and helps improve water and air quality.
A majority of the Benonis property ranks in the Top 10 Percent of land in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be protected and a portion of the property also falls within the Natural Habitat & Ecosystem Diversity Category. In addition to having a very high ecological core ranking and being within the Virginia Natural Land Network for connectivity between the highest-ranking core areas, the Benonis property is located within the designated Central Piedmont Wildlife Biodiversity Resilience Corridor identified in the Virginia Wildlife Corridor Action Plan, which stretches from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Nottoway River and connects to the Great Dismal Swamp.
“We became evermore excited by the prospect of stewarding the property for generations to come the more we walked the bluffs overlooking Muddy Creek, explored the old-growth forests in stream valleys, or contemplated the opportunity to utilize the soils to sustain agricultural or forestal activities into the future,” said the owners.
