Help Save Land at the "Gibraltar of the Valley"
402 acres of battlefield can be saved for just $20,000!
We have the opportunity to protect 402 critical acres of the Fisher’s Hill Battlefield, and thanks to the generosity of the family who owns the land, we don’t have to buy the protective easement – we only have to raise the $20,000 it will cost to get the easement done and recorded! This is an amazingly generous offer that enables us to preserve 402 acres that otherwise would remain unprotected – risking not only this property but the viewshed of almost the entire battlefield.
If we can raise the funds needed to pay for the survey appraisal, legal fees, and other costs and fees for creating and recording this easement, the landowners will donate the value of the easement itself! This is a donation worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So what ground are we talking about? These 402 acres are on the western end of the Fisher’s Hill Battlefield, on high ground along Little North Mountain. It was the site where the Army of West Virginia, under the command of General George Crook, arrived after their secretive flank march and from where they launched an attack that would crush the Confederate left and win the battle for the Union. If you look at the map for this project [see above], a quick look will clearly show the importance of this property. You’ll see several parcels marked as ongoing projects, and even more marked as already preserved. When combined, all of these parcels represent the amazing effort that you and all of our friends across the country have been making to save the Fisher’s Hill Battlefield. We’re slugging it out daily to complete the projects that we already have underway, but this new opportunity is too good not to bring it to you and ask for your help.
If we can come together to raise the $20,000 needed, we are going to partner with the Land Trust of Virginia to co-hold a perpetual preservation easement on this battlefield property and the pre-war structures situated there. The Land Trust of Virginia is a fantastic and well-known conservation organization that has protected thousands of acres across the Commonwealth. This will be the first project that we will complete together, and represents a partnership that brings the strengths of both organizations to bear in a way that provides optimal protection and stewardship for this property.
Think about it – an easement on 402 acres, the value of which is over $1.3 million – and all we have to come up with is $20,000.
When you stand on that hillside today and peer down through the woods you can almost hear the West Virginians yelling as they attack. We have to save this property – protect this hallowed ground – and keep future development on this high elevation from ruining the historic integrity of the rest of this battlefield...