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Buster Osborne greets John Eustis, executive director
of the New River Land Trust, who helped facilitate
the conservation easement |
Elderly landowner
protects the New
COXS CHAPEL, VA—A pristine 2 ½-mile stretch
of the New River once proposed as the site of a new state
prison is now forever protected with a conservation easement—thanks
to its 92-year-old landowner.
Mastin F. “Buster” Osborne and his family have
owned a farm along a bluff overlooking the New River for
generations. Then two years ago, a private company recommended
the state build its new state prison on land surrounded by
Osborne’s farm along a horseshoe bend of the river.
Once angry landowners along the river found a better site
for the prison, Osborne decided he had better buy his neighbor’s
land before some other development scheme popped up. The
tract’s only access is through Osborne’s farm.
So at age 91, Osborne negotiated the purchase of the adjoining
farm. He then contacted the New River Land Trust to place
his family farm and his adjacent newly acquired property—a
total of 546 acres—under easement. On December 19th,
he finalized and filed a conservation easement that will
be co-held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the National
Committee for the New River. Osborne and his nephew’s
family, which farms the land, now have the security of knowing
that their land will remain forever productive farmland.
The easement also guards the rural landscape along a popular
stretch of the New River Blueways canoe trail.
“This easement is so important because it is an essential
block in a growing corridor of protected land in Grayson
County critical to the scenic character and the water quality
of the New River,” said Dixie Leonard, president of
the New River Land Trust.
Over 18 miles along the New River are now protected with
conservation easements thanks to the combined efforts of
local landowners, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the New
River Land Trust and the National Committee for the New River.
At age 92, Osborne is also set to become a presence on the
Worldwide Web. A new conservation web site called LandScope
America, being launched by NatureServe and National Geographic,
is making Osborne’s story and photos one of its first
features. LandScope is
a new online resource for the land-protection community and
the public. By bringing together maps, data, photos, and
stories about America’s natural places and open spaces
its goal is to inform and inspire conservation of the nation’s
lands and waters.
Buster’s story for LandScope is
written by Mary Bishop, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
now retired from The Roanoke Times. Fred First, a noted nature
photographer from Floyd, took stunning photos that showcase
the Osborne farm and Buster himself for the web.
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A view of Buster Osborne’s farm from the New River |
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Bishop’s story for the LandScope site
catches the rich family history of the Osborne farm: “When
Buster Osborne was a boy, the New served up catfish and mud
turtles weighing 40 pounds or more. It was a river that froze
in foot-thick ice and allowed easy winter crossings by foot,
horse or Model T. A river where the postman pulled himself
across in a cabled basket, and children rode ferries to school.
“The land, too, provided abundance. Apple and cherry trees filled
the cupboards with jellies and jams. A chestnut orchard littered the ground
with bushels of nuts. “Not a worm in ‘em,” Osborne proudly
reported.”
Across the river, neighboring landowners including
Phil and Charlotte Hanes of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Jerry
and Mary Osborne Young have already protected hundreds of
acres of farmland. The Youngs, like many other families along
the river in Grayson County, have inherited their land directly
from King’s grants to ancestors in colonial days.
The Osborne easement is one of dozens being finalized this
month by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which protects
more than 500,000 acres of natural, scenic, historic, open-space,
and recreational land in Virginia.
“It was a privilege to work with the Osbornes to help them protect their
family farm and also leave a legacy for future generations,” said Neal
Kilgore, conservation easement specialist for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. “This
legacy includes the perpetual opportunity to grow food and forests, while also
providing a place for wildlife and enhancing recreational resources like the
New River. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is thankful for generous and visionary
people like the Osbornes, as well as partners such as the New River Land Trust
and the National Commission for the New River, that help facilitate the easement
process.”
The New River Land Trust educates landowners about how they
can protect their family farms with easements while also
harvesting generous state and federal tax incentives. Working
with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the New River Land
Trust has helped conserve over 33,000 acres in the New River
watershed since 2002.
“At a time when real estate prices are soaring on
the New River, all of us who value this beautiful river and
the productive forests and farms along its banks owe families
like the Osbornes a debt of thanks. Families who canoe the
New as well as communities that pull their water from the
New will enjoy the environmental benefits of protecting this
river corridor,” said John Eustis, executive
director of the New River Land Trust.
A view of Buster Osborne’s
farm from the New River
Photos by Fred First. Fred First is an essayist,
physical therapist, naturalist and photographer living in
Floyd County. |
