Online Auction to Benefit the Natural Area Preserves Fund

What is the Natural Area Preserves Fund?

VNPS is one of the most ardent supporters of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Natural Heritage Program. Through contributions from members like you, our Society has helped the Program to protect and preserve natural resources across Virginia: most recently Bush Mill Stream, The Cedars, and Lyndhurst Ponds Natural Area Preserves.

The Natural Heritage Program needs our support again.

State and Federal land acquisition grants are critical to the Natural Heritage Program for acquiring properties most in need of protection and stewardship. These grant funds are reimbursed upon project completion, and there is no dedicated funding source to pay for required up-front due diligence activities (title searches, surveys, appraisals, environmental assessments, etc.). As a result, critical land acquisition projects have been delayed or lost altogether.

We want to change that by establishing a dedicated Natural Area Preserves Fund with regular contributions from VNPS and other dedicated donors.

Too many projects have been affected due to inadequate on-hand funding and timing because of this longstanding issue. Every dollar you contribute toward the Natural Area Preserves Fund will address this concern and help underwrite future land acquisitions by the Natural Heritage Program, all of which protect rare plants and natural communities, forever.