Stafford to Buy Large Parcel of Forested Land

Tract to Become Nature Preserve

Stafford County supervisors voted last week to buy a forested tract that is among the largest undeveloped plots in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, putting at least a temporary end to years of intense negotiations with the property owner and paving the way for a new Virginia nature preserve.

Under the terms of the deal, Stafford will pay $19 million for 1,720 acres of the Crow's Nest Peninsula, with a two-year option to purchase an additional 1,200 acres for $16.2 million. Half of the initial purchase will be paid for with state grants; the other half will be funded with low-interest state loans, officials said.

The Crow's Nest Peninsula is home to many rare plant and animal species and hosts scores of migratory birds, including the American bald eagle. The marshy land, owned by McLean-based K&M Properties, eventually will be open to the public for hiking, fishing, canoeing and wildlife-watching, officials said. The area is considered by some to be one of the most important natural areas on the East Coast.

"Environmentally and fiscally speaking, this is a great value for Stafford County and Virginia," said Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde (R-Aquia), who founded a conservation group dedicated to preserving Crow's Nest before his 2005 election, and whose district encompasses the property. Virginians will "get a recreational facility that will endure for generations," he said.

The deal follows Stafford's move last year to file for condemnation of the nearly 3,000 acres of land owned by K&M. The agreement prevents the county and the company from having to settle the matter in court.

The county, aided by state and federal officials, had worked for years to acquire the property without reaching an agreement with the firm, which purchased the land in 1989 for $17.8 million. Offers and counteroffers were made, with the developer once asking for as much as $65 million -- an "impossible" sum for Stafford, Milde said. The company planned to build a 680-home subdivision on the land, which is valuable property in a fast-growing county that has become an exurb of Washington.

"We think it's a fair compromise. This is something, from [K&M's] standpoint, that's been going on now for seven or eight years. And they keep trying to do something with the property, because for them it's an investment, and the county keeps trying to stop them from doing something," said Clark Leming, an attorney for the developer. "They're pleased that all of that has reached a conclusion."

The area boasts a storied past, historians have found. In 1608, Capt. John Smith visited Indians who lived there. Pocahontas, daughter of famed Chief Powhatan, was kidnapped from the peninsula by Capt. Samuel Argall after being lured onto his ship, moored in Potomac Creek.

"We'll make it part of the state's natural area preserve system, and it will be a gem in that system," said Joseph Maroon, director of the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation. "It's considered one of the most significant natural areas of the East Coast."

The county has two years to raise money to buy the remaining 1,200 acres. Milde said he is confident that Stafford can get state or federal funds; conservation groups also have pledged to help, he said. If the county falls short, the purchase will go to a voter referendum, he said.

Some environmentalists have complained that the county is paying too much for too little and is buying the land least likely to be developed. Cecilia Kirkman, founder of the Save Crow's Nest group, said the 1,720 acres -- on which the K&M subdivision plan had placed about 370 building lots -- is riddled with wetlands and drain fields that could not have been realistically developed.

"The lame-duck board has passed through a deal that lines the pockets of the developers and is not in the best interest of the taxpayer," she said.

Maroon rejected that characterization.

"It's the most sensitive land. It's not simply wetlands and steep slopes and areas that were unbuildable," he said. "We think it's an excellent deal."