Quantico Pushes for Land Preservation

Fresh Off Conserving 300 Acres, Base Looks to Prevent Other Encroachment

Marine Corps Base Quantico officials have one conservation success story under their belt, and they are hoping for another.

After partnering with public and private entities last year to conserve the 300-acre Merrimac Farm tract next to the base, Quantico officials are again reaching out to Prince William, Stafford and Fauquier counties to protect more land from development that might harm the viability of Quantico.

"Merrimac Farm was very successful, and I would support future conservation efforts," said Prince William Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan (R-Dumfries). "I support the Marine Corps, and we're happy to have them here. They want to protect the area around the base, and I'm all for that. We'd be happy to see all those green trees and open space stay."

Caddigan and the other members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors were briefed by Quantico officials in November, hearing about concerns of encroachment on the base and the tools available to stop it. Officials also made a similar presentation to Stafford County supervisors Tuesday and plan to reach out to Fauquier County officials soon.

Although there are no immediate developments threatening the base, Quantico Facilities Director Chuck Rushing said, much of the land around it could be developed as Northern Virginia continues to grow.

Because the Marines discharge weapons and make a lot of noise, having densely populated subdivisions or office parks near Quantico is not ideal and could interfere with the base's training mission, he said.

"Almost every military base will have operations that have the potential to annoy folks outside the gate," Rushing said. "Development next to the base is considered incompatible because if it takes place, there could be objections to the noise we create, which could ultimately lead to people pressuring us to stop our operations."

To protect the military training environment at Quantico, Rushing said, the base is looking to partner with neighboring jurisdictions, conservation groups or the state through the Department of Defense's encroachment partnering program.

The program, begun in 2003, lets the military and such partners work together to purchase development rights or place easements on land around the base to mitigate development that might impede military training or operations, Rushing said. The Marine Corps has identified "several hundred" acres of land around the base that would be eligible for the program.

The program does not transfer more property into the hands of the military, Rushing said, and the property owner must be willing to sell the land and be given fair market value for the transaction to take place.

"We can't conduct any activity on the [acquired] property, and that's important for the people to understand because the public is naturally skeptical about government acquisition of real estate," Rushing said. "We aren't adding land to the base but just acquiring the development interest so we have the assurance that what we do on our land won't be limited by incompatible development."

In the case of Merrimac Farm, in Prince William, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Prince William Conservation Alliance and the Marine Corps purchased the property early last year for $2.8 million. The Marine Corps has the development rights, and the game and fisheries department owns the land, which is open to the public for hunting and fishing.